Agence France Presse reported this week that damage from Syria's war stands at an estimated $31 billion as the conflict enters into its fourth year.
"The damage caused by the war in Syria stands at 4.7 trillion Syrian pounds ($31.3 billion)," Prime Minister Wael Al Halqi reportedly told the ruling regime's Al Baath newspaper.
It is not clear if the figure, which is nearly equivalent to the country's GDP according to Halqi, is reflecting damage to property exclusively or damage as defined more broadly.
The Syrian government has allocated 50 billion pounds (nearly $348 million) of its budget this year for reconstruction according to Halqi. Last year, only 30 billion pounds were designated under the budget for this cause.
"The current priority for the government is to return security and stability by giving our armed forces the means to fight terrorism," said Halqi, in reference to opposition groups.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has projected damage costs to reach $34 billion by the end of 2014.
