Michel Najjar ,the Minister of Public Works and Transport in the Lebanese caretaker government, has received Alexander Rudakov, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, and a delegation of investment companies interested in infrastructure and port affairs.
“There is a serious desire to develop modern engineering designs for Beirut’s port and that the studies must include all logistical issues, including laying out a perception of the port’s role in Lebanon and the region and focusing on laying sound scientific foundations for the administrative, legal and technical situation of the port,” Najjar confirms.
The delegation headed by the Russian ambassador has met with Basem Al-Qaisi, the Director General of Beirut Port, Shakib Khoury, the director of the Minister’s office, and Pierre Baaklini, the Counselor.
In addition, it has been agreed to hold a meeting between Dr. Ahmed Tamer, the Director General of Land and Maritime Transport, Director of Tripoli’s port, and the Russian delegation next Thursday, to take a field tour of Tripoli’s port and to be informed of developments that are taking place.
The delegation has pointed out that the first exploratory visit will be followed by a second visit after two weeks. The delegation also has expressed a serious desire to contribute, through the” BOT “, to vital projects in Lebanon, foremost of which is Beirut Port reconstruction project.
The Beirut port explosion killed at least 200 people and injured more than 6 thousand others, with severe damage to the buildings surrounding the port. The Lebanese authorities stated that the reason for the explosion was the presence of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated by customs in 2014 and stored in a warehouse.
It is noteworthy that the Lebanese authorities received, at the beginning of this month, a German proposal to rebuild Beirut’s port. This proposal involves three priorities, based on the location of the port and its importance to the import and export movement, to and from Lebanon.
