Restoring production in Syria's Aleppo top government priority: PM

Restoring the production wheel in Syria's northern city of Aleppo is a top priority for the Syrian government after the army forces wrested control over that key city last month, Prime Minister Imad Khamis said Monday, according to state news agency SANA.

"Aleppo has never been absent from the government's concern," Khamis said during a ministerial meeting held in Aleppo on Monday following its recapture.

The delegation of 15 ministers was dispatched to Aleppo upon the directives of President Bashar al-Assad to evaluate the service and economic situation in the city.

Khamis said the top priority of the government is the restoration of production in the city, by rehabilitating the industrial city of Sheikh Najjar all the way to the smallest workshop in Aleppo.

He said that a work team will be formed to review the status of damaged factories and provide facilitation to its owners, as well as providing loans to those who wish to begin production.

Following a month-long military offensive, the Syrian army and allied fighters succeeded to wrest control on the rebel-held part east of Aleppo, after dislodging the rebels out of the city last month.

Since then, thousands of people started returning to check on their homes to see what can be fixed and what needs to be rebuilt from scratch.

Government trucks were quick to start removing the sandbags and the wreckages of buses blocking the crossings or streets between both parts of the city, which facilitate the flow of civilians, who had fled eastern Aleppo for a long time, to return to check on their homes.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city and was the economic capital of Syria ahead of the rebel attacks on the eastern part of the city in 2012.

Its recapture is deemed as a major military victory for the Syrian army due to the strategic location and the significance of the city. Endit