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BEIRUT's
port is thriving, says the port authority's
director Hassan Kraytem, the proof of which
is that it has earned US$55 million for
the national treasury in 2014, according
to the Finance Ministry figures.
This
is due to its growth into a transshipment
hub and an increase in container traffic,
writes Jeremy Arbid in Lebanon's Executive
magazine. Yet despite this success, a plan
to expand the port to increase this capacity
has resulted in labour strikes and political
controversy.
Whereas
today the fourth basin can only handle ships
carrying general cargo commodities such
as grain and flour, cars and other goods
that are not easily containerised, the plan
is to fill the basin and create a multipurpose
terminal to handle both general cargo and
containers.
Filling
the port's fourth basin is the point of
contention. Truck drivers shuttling goods
from the port to destinations in Lebanon
and beyond had called for work on the expansion
project to stop, arguing that jobs would
be lost, with Bkirki - the seat of the Maronite
Catholic Patriarchate - and the Lebanese
Forces, Kataeb, Free Patriotic Movement
(FPM) and Marada Movement supporting their
cause.
It
is yet unclear why the Church has become
involved. Minister of Education Elias Bou
Saab, a FPM party official, told The Daily
Star in February that in the absence of
a Christian president, the Church was the
best representative of Christians.
Local
media reports suggested the Council of Ministers
would meet in late April to debate the issue,
but as of yet no compromise has been reached.
The Church did not respond to a request
for comment.
The
Port Authority, meanwhile, argues that the
expansion is, in Mr Kraytem's words, purely
economic, a project that is in the interests
of the port and of Lebanon as a whole. Until
the two sides sort out their differences,
the expansion is on hold with ongoing discussions
that could result in alterations to the
original plan.
A
colorful mix of containers sit stacked on
top of one another in Beirut'scontainer
terminal. Completed in 2000, operation of
the terminal commenced. A few years later
it was under subcontracted management by
the Beirut Container Terminal Consortium
(BCTC).
The
original capacity of the terminal allowed
processing of up to the equivalent of 745,000
TEU per year. Capacity quickly peaked according
to statistics available on the BCTC website
and by 2010 the terminal was bustling, handling
nearly 1,000,000 TEU annually.
"If
we don't implement that expansion we believe
that in 2018 the port will reach saturation
for general cargo and containers,"
said Mr Kraytem.
Thus,
began a first phase in expanding the terminal's
capacity to process up to 1,200,000 TEU
per year and for quicker turn around in
servicing ships. Today, Mr Kraytem says
the container terminal is again quickly
approaching capacity limits.
"BCTC
says TEUs last year totalled 1,211,033 -
and in only a few years will create a bottleneck
in the unloading and loading of containers
onto vessels, thereby slowing shipment times
and placing the port's competitiveness vis-a-vis
regional ports in jeopardy. For this reason,
Mr Kraytem says expansion is necessary.
"If
we don't implement expansion, we believe
that in 2018 the port will reach saturation
for general cargo and containers,"
he said.
The
project will build a new quay that can accommodate
the largest vessels that come to the Beirut
Port, Mr Kraytem said, with the area behind
the new quay to be filled, creating a yard
for storing and stacking.
"In
a couple of years' time, these people's
livelihoods they've trying to defend
will be affected - the port will be saturated
and cargo will start either moving to other
ports or getting more expensive for the
Lebanese consumer."
A
new multipurpose terminal, Mr Kraytem says,
will be on a similar work schedule as the
container terminal - 24/7 as managed by
BCTC.
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