French company tasked
to clear grains from Beirut Port

MAN Enterprise to help in execution

French environmental engineering company Recygroup International will clear the Port of Beirut from up to 30,000 tons of grain.

The contract, valued at €1.4 million ($1.7 million), was signed last month with the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The funds were donated by the French government.

The project is based on a €820,000 study presented in January and also financed by a donation from the French government.

Recygroup International will sanitize the leftover grain from the explosion with the help of local construction company MAN Enterprise. In early July, the company will set up a treatment centre at the port to spray the grain with fertilizer and separate it from port waste, including rocks, metal, concrete, 600 to 700 old cars and other waste. The grain could then be used as compost and fertilizer.

Recygroup International has been working at the port for several months to identify waste and suggest ways of selling or upcycling it to local authorities.

The company has identified a number of potential health risks caused by the piles of rotting grain. Temperature in Beirut is expected to reach 30°C this summer, with high humidity levels. “Insects and rats are feeding on the grain, which has been lying outside fermenting under the rain and now in the heat, spreading foul odors and germs,” said Benjamin Constant, Vice President at the company. “We will guarantee that the grain is treated correctly, but we are not responsible for its distribution and storage,” said another vice president Vianney Mercherz.

A number of foreign countries are involved in clearing the area, a prerequisite before reconstruction. In the days and weeks after the explosion, the French army supported its Lebanese counterpart to render the port, via which most of the country’s imports are moved, operational again.

In November, German company Combi Lift started removing the remaining hazardous material. In early May, a ship loaded with more than 1,000 tons of dangerous chemicals left Beirut for Germany for treatment.

Goods that were stored at the port before the blast, including bags of salt, clothes, and paint, are jumbled together in large piles. Port authorities are evaluating their options on how to deal with this merchandise. They expect a final report from Recygroup International in mid-July.