In light of the huge explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020, Germany is about to present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities in order to rebuild the port.
A
ccording to Reuters, Germany’s proposal came as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse.
In fact, Germany and France are vying to lead reconstruction efforts. Berlin will on April 7 outline its proposal, which the diplomats said would in principle include support from the European Investment Bank (EIB), to help fund the clearing of the area and reconstruction facilities.
Germany’s ambassador to Lebanon, Andreas Kindl, confirmed a proposal would be made next week to redevelop Beirut port and nearby areas. The plan had been drawn up by several private companies who would hold talks in Beirut to present it, he said.
As a diplomatic source told Reuters:
“This plan is not going to come without strings attached. Germany and France want first to see a government in place committed to implementing reforms. There is no other way around it and this is good for Lebanon.”
In addition to the port itself, Germany’s proposal would look to redevelop more than 100 hectares in the surrounding area in a project that the two diplomatic sources said would be along the lines of the post-war reconstruction of central Beirut.
As in that redevelopment, the plan would involve the creation of a publicly-listed company similar to Solidere, which was set up by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in the 1990s and remains on the Lebanon stock exchange.
The sources put the project cost at anywhere between $5 billion to $15 billion, and said it could create as many as 50,000 jobs.
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To remind, the disaster was preceded by a large fire at the Port of Beirut, on the city’s northern Mediterranean coast, while killed at least 200 people and injured around 5,000 others.
Concluding, the chemical explosion plunged the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
