Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – The People’s Assembly discussed in its session on Tuesday the performance of Transport Ministry and the Communications and Technology Ministry and their efforts to overcome the repurcussions of the crisis.
The Assembly members raised a number of issues, including the disruption of communications and internet services in Aleppo city, and means to communications disruptions in Hasaka city, with one member proposing monitoring internet sites and Facebook pages which publishing misleading information and possibly blocking them.
Other members talked about the rising fees for communications services, renewing contracts with mobile networks operators, and the possibility of a third mobile networks operator entering the market.
The members also asked about the fate of the Damascus metro project, amending the traffic law, and replace jail time for traffic offenses with fines, among other issues.
Addressing some of the members’ questions, Communications and Technology Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said that Syrian Telecom is exerting all possible efforts to offer all communication services to the citizens within the available resources, noting that monitoring internet sites has its own administration and the ministry has nothing to do with this issue.
Al-Jalali said that the Ministry’s policy is to work to return communications services to any area the army restores stability and security to.
As for renewing mobile companies’ contracts, the Minister said that this matter is within the jurisdiction of the Cabinet, and that the ministry wants a third mobile operator to enter the market, provided that it is able to provide good services and competitive prices.
For his part, Transport Minister Ghazwan Kher Bek affirmed that the Syrian Arab Airlines Company is working on rehabilitating number of aircrafts in cooperation with friendly countries, adding that the Ministry is planning to establish a port for rehabilitating and repairing ships in Tartous.
About the Damascus metro project, he noted that the Ministry has a study for providing transportation from the suburbs by railways, adding that a number of companies, including Chinese ones, applied to carry out the project.
Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh
