2023-05-20 09:15:00
Aerial image of the new US Embassy under construction in Beirut/US Embassy in Beirut/Twitter
2023.05.20 Sat posted at 18:15 JST
（ＣＮＮ） In Beirut, the capital of Lebanon in the Middle East, where regarding 80% of the people are said to be living in poverty due to political instability and economic turmoil, local residents are struggling to make ends meet as the United States begins construction of a new embassy with magnificent and luxurious facilities. It is a situation that brings suspicion and jealousy to people.
Construction is underway at the current embassy site, regarding 13 kilometers from the center of the city, and the various facilities that will be attached will give the impression of a city.
The embassy itself looks like a city on 43 acres (regarding 174,000 square meters). It is regarding twice as large as the White House grounds and can accommodate more than 21 soccer fields.
There is a lot of speculation on social media regarding why such a large embassy is needed in Beirut, which has a population of around 6 million. There have been posts suggesting that a large room would be needed to process visa applications to the United States by citizens who face hardships in their daily lives.
Lebanon’s turbulent domestic situation has put the U.S. State Department on the third-highest travel alert, and few U.S. tourists actually visit the country. However, the number of Lebanese-American residents is quite large.
According to a computer rendering of the completed building released by the embassy, the ultra-modern new embassy will be built on multiple floors and will have leisure facilities and a pool with views of the city. It also includes staff offices, living quarters, and other facilities to support daily life.
Plans to build the new embassy were announced in 2015, reportedly at a cost of US$1 billion. Construction management is the responsibility of the US Department of State’s Office of Foreign Buildings and Buildings (OBO), which is in charge of embassy construction around the world. The US embassy in Beirut did not respond to CNN’s inquiry regarding the new embassy.
In 2020, due to political unrest in Lebanon, a large-scale explosion occurred in the port area of the city, further disrupting the daily lives of residents. The outbreak of the new coronavirus has put the country’s economy in crisis, with many people unable to secure food and medicine, and facing hardships such as power outages.
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