Germany's KfW and UNOPS Support Communities Affected by Beirut Port Explosion
The KfW Development Bank and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) have signed an agreement to rehabilitate damaged municipal infrastructure and assets in the areas affected by the Beirut Port explosion in the next 3 years.
"With the support from the Federal Republic of Germany through the KfW Development Bank, UNOPS will rehabilitate damaged public service buildings and public spaces and restore critical urban services including roads, storm and wastewater networks and provide solar energy solutions in the municipalities of Beirut and Bourj Hammoud," UNOPS said, in a press release.
It added that the project – based on a thorough needs assessment and consultation process which is currently ongoing - will focus on the most damaged, low income, and underserved parts of the affected areas, as well as on service delivery buildings serving the population in the Beirut and Bourj Hammoud municipalities.
Mr. Sascha Stadtler, Director KfW Office Lebanon, said that "about 1 ½ years after the port explosion and much needed small scale emergency measures by so many actors and donors including Germany , it is time for a more comprehensive and coordinated reconstruction process of municipal infrastructure and services in the affected areas. With a grant contribution of 20 million Euros Germany through KfW development bank is contributing to this effort."
"Together with UNOPS we want to capitalize on the achievements and experiences
reached so far by other national and international development partners", Stadtler went on to say.
"We are always guided by the principle: building back better. At the end of the reconstruction process, we want to have a city and a society that is more resilient to future crises,” he added.
Mr. Muhammad Usman Akram, UNOPS Director of the Amman Multi-country Office said for his part that “our latest partnership with KfW in Lebanon seeks to enhance community resilience and promote social cohesion through improving access to critical services offered by Beirut and Bourj Hammoud municipalities."
"Thanks to the funding from Germany, UNOPS will assist in ensuring sustainability of the recovery process for the benefit of the most affected communities,” Akram added.
UNOPS said that in addition to undertaking major infrastructure works, it will engage with civil society actors and local NGOs in implementing the project, given the key role played by local organizations in responding to the Beirut Port explosion and their in-depth knowledge of the communities’ needs.
"Through a small grants component, the project will support creative, effective, and sustainable small initiatives that would benefit the affected communities and promote social cohesion at the local level," UNOPS stated.
It added that it will also carry out capacity building activities for the municipal personnel and other project partners, "in line with the UNOPS mandate, related to the operations and maintenance of the rehabilitated assets and infrastructure."
On 4 August 2020, a devastating explosion rocked the Beirut Port, destroying most of the port’s facilities and severely damaging the surrounding neighborhoods within six kilometers of the port area. The disaster left
more than 200 people dead, around 6,000 injured or disabled, and estimated 300,000 homeless.
Preliminary assessments indicated that the neighborhoods most affected by the explosion are the municipality of Beirut in Beirut Governorate and Bourj Hammoud, Bachoura, and Sin El Fil municipalities in Mount Lebanon Governorate, UNOPS said.
Source: Naharnet
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