Lebanon and France this week signed a cooperation agreement between the administrations of the ports of Beirut and Marseille. The agreement includes the exchange of information and technical expertise related to sea transport and the development of port activities. The official Lebanese news agency quoted the Minister of Public Works and Transport in the Provisional Government, Ali Hamaya, as saying that the rehabilitation of the port of Beirut would begin after the completion of the master plan for it, in cooperation with the World Bank.
During the signing ceremony, the Minister announced “the launch of the port’s rehabilitation workshop by the end of this August, as part of a process open to the whole world, within the framework of the law and a booklet of conditions with standards that include complete transparency.” The agreement was signed in the presence of the head of the Beirut port’s administration and investment department, Omar Itani, and the director of the French port of Marseilles, Rabbi Marty, in the presence of Hamia, the Lebanese Minister of Industry. George Bushikian, and the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Ann Gru.
It should be noted that earlier this year Hamia stated that it had been agreed to sign a contract for the management, operation and maintenance of the container terminal at the port of Beirut, with a company CMA CGM French for a period of 10 years.