Lebanon October 2011

I visited Beirut in late October to carry out a short investigation into the infrastructure opportunities there.

During these tumultuous times Lebanon seems to have barely featured in the news, and during my visit the country seemed to be functioning as well, or as badly, as ever. While there are certainly tensions, mainly relating to pro or anti Assad factions, the country remains remarkably peaceful.

Already having a democracy, however flawed, is part of that, but I have always been impressed at the freedom of speech and media which provides an important safety valve in Lebanon. My taxi driver was happy to tell me that everyone was broke and there were too many power cuts, but he was also very keen to stress that the country was peaceful and – when pressed - that business was not too bad for him. He also drove a London Taxi which had the slogan ‘From London to Beirut’!
The new Prime Minister, Najib Miqati, and his Gvernment is getting quite a few plaudits locally for ‘getting things done’. For example Lebanese mobile users were pleasantly surprised to suddenly have a 3G service appear in October after years of delays.

Some important legislation on power and the oil/gas sectors has recently been passed. A much needed 700 MW power station is likely to be tendered during November, and further moves towards privatisation of the sector and encouragement of IPPs seem likely to move forward in 2012. The first bidding round for the offshore oil and gas exploration is planned for Spring 2012. Politicians seem united on this by a fear that Israel is significantly further forward with its offshore plans, and 2 major fields cross over a disputed maritime boundary.

Some major water and wastewater projects are planned, along with 2 major road projects; a new Beirut-Damascus highway and a Beirut Ringroad. What surprised me most was that a light rail project between Jounieh and Beirut appeared to now be under serious consideration with early stage consultancy work underway. Jounieh is 20 km north of the capital and this road is probably one of the most congested in the Middle East – never has a railway line been so needed.

In the private sector the construction boom has slowed a little, but this stabilisation is welcome after a period of unsustainable real estate price increases.

I was delighted to bump into an old friend from Rogers Stirk Harbour architects (Beirut is a small place!), who told me he was now working on 2 major projects in the Beirut Central District. The BCD is still the hub for all high-end work in Lebanon, and in over 20 years since the end of the civil war this area has quietly transformed itself into one of the finest city centres in the world. Although some much-loved old landmarks which were badly damaged have been lost, many others have been preserved, including the famous Beirut synagogue which is currently under refurbishment. As a huge new tranche of reclaimed land comes into use – many of the plots are sold and a new marina is under development - there will be further opportunities in this area.

It seems therefore that there is a window of opportunity here, especially with infrastructure over the next few years. One other idea which kept coming up would be to partner with Lebanese companies to work in difficult third countries such as Iraq or in Africa. Lebanese businesspeople are a major cog in world trade and development. Every Lebanese company I met stated they would welcome partnership approaches from UK professional service companies. Food for thought.

In the rare downtime it was good to see Lebanese nightlife remains as lively as ever. In the Middle East it is a rare pleasure to relax in a proper bar in a real street surrounded by locals – it makes a nice change from the hotel-based nightlife elsewhere. Lebanese food remains as fabulous as ever and the people as friendly. And the UKTI team in the Embassy were as efficient as ever – I thoroughly recommend getting in touch with Paul Khawaja to discuss any of the above on paul.khawaja@fco.gov.uk

Dominic James
7 November 2011