Syria: An Economic Survey 



of Haifa, to be 30-40 hectars in size, would also come to 15-20 

 million francs. 



Almost all the merchandise imported and exported through 

 Alexandretta and Haifa is or will be transported by rail; conse- 

 quently any increase of traffic brought about by the building of the 

 harbor will be advantageous to the railways. But this is not the 

 case in Jaffa. It happens that most of the oranges, wine, and soap 

 exported from Jaffa come from places which do not lie on the 

 Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway. The same is true of imports. This con- 

 dition will be changed after the completion of the Lydda-Tulkerem 

 and Wadi-Serar-Beersheba lines. In any case it is advisable to have 

 the harbor built by railway companies which are materially inter- 

 ested in its success. 



II. The Road System. 



The building and maintenance of roads in Syria has been 

 effected either by concessions to private companies or by govern- 

 ment undertakings. The Beirut-Damascus road and the Tripoli- 

 Homs-Hama road were built in the former way, both proving very 

 profitable to the companies which undertook them. All other roads 

 in Syria were built by the Turkish government which laid taxes 

 in kind, amounting to about 600,000 Itq. per annum, on the popula- 

 tion. 10 per cent of the receipts of the Banque Agricole (about 

 35,000 Itq. annually) are devoted exclusively to road building. 



The system of taxes levied in kind was not successful, and 

 before the war the road system of Syria (with the exception of the 

 Lebanon) was very backward. During the war Djemal Pasha has 

 accelerated the work of road building in extraordinary fashion. 

 The following roads have been built since 1911 : 



Damascus-Kuneitrah (37) ; Rosh Pinah (22) ; Tiberias 



(17) ; Semach (6) 83 mi. 



Nazareth-Afuleh (6) ; Jenin (9) ; Nablus (22) 37 " 



Jericho-Es Salt (27) ; Amman (21) 47 " 



Hebron-Beersheba (31) ; Hafir (45) 76 " 



Latrun-Djulis-Gaza (not yet completed) 62 " 



The road system of Syria consists of the two main thorough- 

 fares running from north to south, and the transverse roads which 

 connect them. The coastal road is not complete, there being no 

 connection between Haifa and Tyre, and Tripoli and Alexandretta. 

 In June, 1916, the most important roads of Syria were: 



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