Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa Says Clearing Rubble Harder Than New Construction

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said repairing the remaining destruction in Syria is more difficult than building state institutions from scratch [1, 2].

The statement highlights the immense logistical and economic hurdles facing the Syrian government as it attempts to stabilize the country after years of conflict. By framing the recovery as a gradual process, the administration is managing expectations regarding the speed of urban and institutional rebirth.

Al-Sharaa detailed these challenges during an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, which was recorded in 2024 [1, 3]. Speaking from Damascus, the president said that the reconstruction process will be carried out incrementally according to specific priorities [1, 2]. He said that the administration must address accumulated problems before it can begin the process of creating new institutions from the ground up [1, 2].

"Repairing the rubble is harder than building from scratch," al-Sharaa said ^[2].

While the interview focused on the physical and systemic recovery of the nation, its release has been marked by administrative friction. The Syrian Ministry of Information said it retains the right to broadcast the interview with the Kurdish Shams channel ^[4].

This claim follows reports that the Shams channel declined to air the interview ^[5]. Some reports suggest the Ministry of Information threatened to broadcast the footage independently if the channel did not comply ^[5], though other accounts said the ministry simply affirmed its right to ensure the broadcast occurred without mentioning threats ^[2].

Al-Sharaa said that the scale of the ruins presents a unique obstacle to the state's vision for a modernized infrastructure. The president's approach suggests a strategy of triage, fixing the most critical failures first rather than attempting a total simultaneous overhaul of the country's damaged sectors [1, 2].