Shaykh Najjar is a relatively new development and is the closest Syrian industrial center to the border with
Turkey. By 2010–11, there were 1,923 companies operating in the industrial zone. About 40% of the firms inside the city are Turkish-owned. In addition to proximity, Turkish business owners benefit from tariff-free trade agreements between Syria and Turkey as well as the tariff-free exports of Turkish products made in Syria to the
Arab world. Investors that open businesses inside the industrial zone are able to be assigned land and have the documents to proceed operations within 24 hours. Shaykh Najjar is seen as one of the first urban developments built outside the ring roads of Aleppo. According to Anna Irene Del Monaco, an Italian researcher of urban landscapes, Shaykh Najjar has the potential of reducing the "proliferation of industrial zones in the fabric inside the ring roads" and would absorb more workers from the countryside of Aleppo. During the ongoing
Syrian civil war which began in 2011, clashes between the opposition rebels and government forces have resulted in the destruction of hundreds of businesses in Aleppo, including in Shaykh Najjar. According to a
Reuters report from 4 October 2012, the industrial zone "is now little more than a ghost town where guards try to protect some factories at great risk to their lives." By October 2012, around 20 pharmaceutical plants discontinued production, causing the potential risk of a medicine shortage. On 30 November 2024, the
Syrian Democratic Forces took control of the city amidst the
attack on Aleppo and the subsequent withdrawal of the
pro-government forces. On 2 December 2024,
Tahrir al-Sham captured the Sheikh Najjar industrial zone from the SDF. ==References==