Report: Mansour, Khaireddine Searching for New Foreign Ministry Location
The government has tasked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and State Minister Marwan Khaireddine with finding a new location for the foreign ministry after experts warned that parts of Bustros Palace could collapse, An Nahar daily reported Friday.
An Nahar said that both Mansour and Khaireddine are now searching for the location for the ministry’s employees, including diplomats and administrative staff.
Beirut Municipality’s Engineering Department, which inspected the foreign ministry’s headquarters in the district of Ashrafiyeh, has warned that parts of Bustros Palace’s walls face the danger of cracks or collapse.
According to the newspaper, around 75 people, including the minister, work at the building in addition to two nearby buildings and three floors at a commercial center close by.
The cabinet reportedly urged both ministers to limit their search to the Bustros Palace area. But if they failed to do so, then the ministry would be relocated to another neighborhood for the first time since its inception.
The issue of building safety has caused controversy following the collapse of an apartment building in Ashrafiyeh’s Fassouh neighborhood in January, killing 27 people.
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