The Minister of Public Works and Transport in Lebanon, Ali Hamiyah, announced that France had given a donation, which consisted of successive numbers of buses, the first of which were 50, and expressed its willingness to stand next to Lebanon in the development of the transport sector.
The Lebanese Minister of Works indicated to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the buses are owned by the Lebanese state and will be in the custody of the Railways and Joint Transport Authority, which also plays its role in maintaining some of the 45 existing and discontinued buses.
He explained to “Al-Araby Al-Jadeed” regarding the donation of French buses that one-third of the total total will be To move inside Beirut And two-thirds to travel from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley, from Beirut to the north, and from Beirut to the south. He stressed, “We will improve the use of these buses, and we will do them and work to use them and benefit from them, and we will not leave them left unused.”
Lebanon suffers from a long history linked to corruption in the transport sector, in addition to the absence of a public transport plan in the country. Hamiya had announced at the end of last year that there are “several public transport projects within the ministry that are not implemented and they need to be implemented.” monitor credits He will work to bring them together within a unified strategy for public transport, and he is also working on developing immediate, temporary solutions for this sector, such as securing buses by requesting donations from some countries friendly to Lebanon.
Hemyeh held a joint press conference with French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djibari today, Thursday, and stressed that “the first batch includes fifty buses, provided that upon its arrival we will hold a coordination meeting with the French Embassy in Beirut because there is a French concern not to use the buses to serve transport in Lebanon, and therefore it will be There is an assessment of the situation, which will prompt France to provide additional buses.”
Hamiyah announced that France had expressed its willingness to assist the Lebanese state in developing Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut and aviation safety.
For his part, the French Minister of Transport stressed in his speech that France is always there to help Lebanon in light of the economic conditions it is going through, and this visit comes as a continuation of the discussions that took place in Paris on January 20th.
Ministers Hamiya and Djibari moved to the Grand Serail, where a memorandum of understanding on the French donation was signed, under the auspices of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Ministers Hamiya and Djebari attended at Beirut Port the signing ceremony of an agreement to manage, operate and maintain the container terminal at the port between the Beirut Port Authority and Investment Management Committee and the French company CMA CGM.
The French company CMA CGM (working in the field of maritime transport and logistics) won the contract to operate the container terminal in Beirut Port for a period of ten years, starting next March.
The French company indicated in a statement that $33 million will be invested in the Beirut Port Container Terminal, including $19 million during the first two years.
This investment will allow for the complete modernization of equipment, the construction of a new technical ward for the maintenance and storage of spare parts, and the digital transformation of the plant.