DAMASCUS, Syria: A plan to raze swathes of the medieval suburbs, souks (bazaars) and workshops that huddle against old Damascus’s northern city wall will destroy the livelihoods of about 10,000 people, according to conservation experts and residents.

Selling carpets and trinkets in his ancient shop on the edge of Damascus’ old city, Ibrahim Hamzeh waits for the eviction notice to come.

Hamzeh lives just outside Bab al-Salam, one of the seven gates to the old city, and all his neighbours have received notice to leave their homes, which are set to be bulldozed to make way for an eight-lane highway.

“This will destroy a community. All our friends and family live around here but if we are relocated it will be to an area 25km outside the city,” he said.

The project to widen the Malik al-Faisal road to 40 metres, with high-rise flats on either side, could go ahead as early as May.

“The government will give compensation for the owners of houses and shops but those who rent will get nothing, although they’ve rented them for decades and paid taxes. And it’s not usually the owners who work in the shops,” said Razan Zaitouneh, a rights campaigner who has co-authored a petition to save the areas.

Renters form the vast majority of those who work in the souk, she said. Owners will receive 30,000 Syrian pounds, around US$ 2,000, per metre, a rate considered undervalued for central Damascus.

Furthermore, conservationists believe the road expansion will irreparably harm the fabric and character of one the world’s oldest cities and could threaten its listing as a UNESCO world heritage site.