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Syrian megaprojects boom Syria currently has a total of $10.36 billion worth of public and private funds invested, much of it in the country’s real estate sector, which saw a pickup in activity in October. The Dubai -based Majid Al Futtaim group announced on October 20 that it would tender $1 billion worth of building contracts by February for its Yaafour mixed–use project, which sits on a 1 million square meter plot north of Damascus. The project, first announced in 2008, will include two hotels, office and residential space surrounding a shopping mall, and is slated for completion in 2013.  Excavation work also started on Bena Properties’ 85,800 square meter Taj Halab mixed-use development in Aleppo, according to the group’s October 20 press release.  Finally, the Arab Times reports that Emaar is near completion on the first phase of the $500 million Eighth Gate project just outside Damascus. Other large