Interview: Helmut von Struve, CEO, Siemens Middle East, on how investment in power and people is key to recovery
Which infrastructure priorities should guide Syria’s reconstruction and how can power management support recovery across the economy?
HELMUT VON STRUVE: The immediate priority is to restore a reliable electricity system because almost every other part of the recovery depends on it. Existing generation and network assets should first be assessed, repaired and returned to service wherever this can deliver power quickly. The next step is to modernise them selectively, improve resilience and integrate the distributed solar capacity that households developed during years of disruption. Better demand management and public awareness of energy efficiency can also release scarce capacity without waiting for major new generation.
Power investment should then be sequenced by economic and social impact. Industrial zones that can create employment, restart local production and support exports need dependable supply. Water and wastewater systems require electricity for pumping, treatment and quality control; agriculture depends on both power and water; and transport infrastructure must be restored as trade and mobility recover. Cybersecurity and communications networks should be designed into these systems from the outset. The objective is not to treat each sector separately but to sequence investments so that reliable power enables services, productive activity and further reinvestment.
How can artificial intelligence (AI) and automation improve the efficiency of reconstruction and the assets that emerge from it?
VON STRUVE: Digitalisation can make limited resources work much harder. A digital twin of the electricity grid can show what is operating, simulate flows and identify which interventions will restore the greatest capacity or resilience first. This replaces assumption-led planning with data-driven decisions and allows investment to expand in stages rather than attempting to rebuild everything at once. The same principle applies to factories and water networks. Existing equipment can be restored and then complemented by backward compatible sensors, monitoring and automation. Operators can see energy consumption, production performance, leaks, line losses and water quality in real time, helping them prevent failures and direct maintenance more precisely. AI-enabled assistants can translate this data into natural language guidance, including in Arabic, summarising earlier shifts, flagging maintenance needs and helping secure spare parts before an outage occurs. Digital twins also make training and commissioning more efficient. Engineers can rehearse procedures in a virtual environment before entering a substation, power plant or industrial facility.
What pathways can enable Syria to draw on young people, experienced local workers and the diaspora during the country’s reconstruction?
VON STRUVE: Syria’s strongest long-term resource is its people. Training must serve three groups simultaneously: young engineers and technicians entering the workforce; experienced personnel who understand the installed base; and Syrian professionals abroad who have worked with newer technologies. Diaspora engineers can act as a bridge, bringing current technical knowledge while learning from local teams that kept assets functioning under extraordinarily difficult conditions. Combining those capabilities is more valuable than replacing one group with another.
This requires several linked pathways. Universities and industry can develop curricula together, while regional vocational centres provide hands-on laboratories in electrification, automation and digital systems. Internships at regional operations, blended online and practical learning, and traineeships embedded in major reconstruction projects can move people quickly from theory into safe, competent work. Virtual simulations and AI tools can accelerate upskilling without risking operating equipment and the people who work them.
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