Minister of Public Works and Transport in the caretaker government, Ali Hamieh, is launching today, Tuesday, at the Beirut Port Administration building, a public auction for selling the explosion debris of metals and scrap "metal space" at the Beirut Port. This is part of the port's reconstruction plan, which was previously announced to commence its executive procedures within the available capabilities of the port administration, in the presence of the head of the Parliamentary Works Committee, Saji Attieh, the head of the Public Procurement Authority, Dr. Jean Alia, and the chairman and members of the Beirut Port Board of Directors.
Hamieh stated, "From day one, we adopted three main pillars: first, activating the port's operations; second, reforming the laws for managing Lebanese ports, especially the Beirut Port; and third, reconstruction." He added, "In June 2021, the port was on the verge of closure," noting that "the revenues of the Beirut Port for the year 2021 did not exceed 15 million dollars, whereas today its monthly revenues exceed 10 million dollars. All of this resulted from the activation of its work and the efforts made by the port administration and the employees on the ground, as the Beirut Port has returned and is now on the map of maritime ports in the Eastern Mediterranean."
Hamieh pointed out that regarding reconstruction, "we started it from day one by activating the port's operations, which means reconstruction. In early July 2023, we began preparing terms of reference for the passenger terminal, according to the public procurement law, with the investment to be from the private sector. Today, we announce the launch of the public auction for selling the debris from the explosion of metals and scrap 'Metal Scrap,' located on tens of thousands of square meters on the port grounds, in accordance with the public procurement law, and after obtaining the approval of the Public Procurement Authority, we launched the auction."
Hamieh reiterated that he "will not allow the Beirut Port to be held hostage to political conflicts, neither locally nor internationally and according to Lebanese law," considering that "what we have done today is the best proof of that, and the auction will free tens of thousands of square meters to prepare them for upcoming investments by the private sector, which will lead to increased revenues for the Lebanese state treasury." He indicated that "the quantities present on the port's grounds were estimated by Resi Group after the explosion, and were also estimated by the Lebanese army, with the two estimates being different. Therefore, we decided that the auction would be on a price per kilogram and per ton. Seven large tents have been prepared, which will be supervised by both the port administration and customs, as well as the security forces operating at the port."
