Beirut-Masnaa highway to be ready by 2016

Works will cost around $380 million

The Cabinet recently agreed to assign an Italian firm to conduct a study for the construction of a freeway between Beirut and Bekaa through the town of Mreijat. The Council of Development and Reconstruction (CDR) is already working on a number of projects to rehabilitate the main road linking Beirut to the border in Masnaa. These works are funded by the government, as well as international and Arab funds.

According to the CDR, works mainly involve three sections of the highway: Namlieh-Taanayel, Hazmieh-Sofar, and Taanayel-Masnaa.

The first part, some 15 kilometers long, is part of the Mdeirej-Taanayel road and will link the Namlieh overpass to the town of Taanayel. “The consultants on this project are Team International and Saud Consult, and the developers are Consolidated Engineering and Trading (local) and A.R Hourie (local),” said Elie Helou, project manager at CDR. This segment costs $140 million. “This project is financed through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), OPEC, and the government, in addition to a grant from the Saudi government,” Helou said. This section will be completed in 2016.

The second section involves the expansion of Damascus Highway, between Sayyad roundabout and Sofar. Ghassan Khairallah, director of roads and ground transportation at CDR said this project costs up to $150 million. He said “the project is financed through a loan from the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).” Works on this section will be completed by the end of this year.

Works on the third section, between Taanayel and Masnaa, were resumed lately, after having been delayed due to problems in lands expropriation in Majdal Anjar. The project needs around two more years for completion. The cost of works is estimated at $90 million. This project is equally funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the State.

The CDR is also working to upgrade roads branching out from the Beirut- Bekaa highway. These include rehabilitation of Hazmieh-Jamhour, and Baalechmay-Sofar byroads. “These works would reduce public safety hazards as they will terminate all crossing points along these roads, allowing vehicles to make U-turns without risk,” Khairallah said.