Beirut Port Official Visits Bkirki as Ibrahim Sees to Resolve 4th Basin Crisis
The head of the Beirut Port Authority Hassan Qoraytem has visited Bkirki to defend his decision to fill the controversial fourth basin at the port.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday that Qoraytem held talks with Bishop Boulos Sayyah and briefed him on the capacity of Beirut Port and each of its basins.
Both Bkirki and Christian parties - the Free Patriotic Movement, Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces, Marada Movement and the Tashnag – reject filling the basin.
The plan to fill it sparked controversy in December when the truckers syndicate went on strike over fears that the project would cause hundreds of Beirut Port employees, mostly truckers, to lose their jobs.
The syndicate claims that the filling of the basin would end the role of Beirut Port and would harm the economy.
The truckers later ended their strike after Prime Minister Tammam Salam said the work to fill the basin would freeze until the issue was resolved.
According to al-Joumhouria, efforts are underway to form a committee that includes representatives from Bkirki and Christian parties and from the port authority.
The committee would aim to find a legal solution to either fill the basin or not before taking the issue to the cabinet for a final decision, said the daily.
Al-Joumhouria quoted highly-informed sources as saying that General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who has been tasked by Salam to deal with the issue's administrative and security aspects, held a meeting with representatives from the truckers syndicate and George Ghanem from the port authority.
The conferees discussed the differences between two sides on the plan to fill the basin, said the sources.
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