Why Lebanon may be closing this naval base
The construction of a tourism project at the port of Beirut requires removing a Lebanese army naval base.
There are only two Lebanese army naval bases in the country. The first is located at the port of Beirut, and the second is in Jounieh, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the capital. The Beirut Naval Base, which is part of the first basin of the port of Beirut, is the country's largest and main naval base. It is at risk of destruction due to the construction of a large tourism project.
The first sign pointing at the project’s implementation is the creation by the Beirut Port Authority of a new entrance to the first basin. The current entrance is known as al-Bawaba al-Shamiya. Since 1996, real estate plot No. 1506, which includes al-Bawaba al-Shamiya, has been the property of Hariri-owned Solidere, the company founded in 1994 to reconstruct the Beirut central district following the 1975-1990 civil war. Plot No. 1506 is adjacent to plot No. 1501 — the location of the naval base.
The project’s engineering drawing shows the establishment of a yacht club, stretching from the first basin, which includes plot No. 1506 and No. 1501. Alarmingly, plot No. 1501 has been the property of the Phoenicia Village, a project developed by the Kuwaiti Levant Holding Company that invested in 2006 more than $1 billion in the development project in the Beirut central district.
Phoenicia Village purchased plot No. 1501 from Solidere, which is now seeking to restore it.
