Minister: Lebanon abandons contentious airport development

 


Cash-strapped The transport minister announced on Thursday that Lebanon has cancelled a contract for a second facility at the $122 million project at Beirut's international airport.

Public Works and Transportation Minister Ali Hamieh stated on Twitter that Lebanon "will not proceed with the contract" and that the choice was made "following legal controversy."

Some had questioned the announcement of such a significant infrastructure project by a caretaker government with limited authority in a nation where ingrained political elites are accused of widespread misconduct.

The absence of a bidding process and the Public Procurement Authority's departure from the process were noticed by civil society organisations and legislators.

The contract "did not pass through" the regulatory organisation as mandated by a 2021 legislation, according to Jean Ellieh, the authority's head.

Ten civil society organizations, including Transparency International Lebanon, issued a warning last week about "serious abuses" in the implementation of the purchase legislation that "open the door to corruption and nepotism."

The second terminal project, to be carried out by private business Lebanese Air Transport and Irish firm daa International, was revealed last week by the government, which has been acting in a caretaker role since parliamentary elections last May.

Hamieh had stated that the initiative, which would have produced "about 2,500 jobs," would be funded by the private sector, with the firms operating the terminal for 25 years.

Lebanon entered one of the worst economic crises the world has ever seen in 2019, according to the World Bank.

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