A new port is being constructed in the Dekrman area of Sidon. The first phase of the project, expected to be completed by mid-2015, costs $17 million.

It will include the construction of a 150-meter-long dock and a one-kilometer long jetty. The quay will have an area of 200,000 m2 and a depth of 15 meters. The contractor was supposed to deliver the first phase by the end of 2014 but had asked for a six-month extension period due to technical delays.

“The second phase will be completed within four months after the first phase,” said Ziad Hakawati, Director of the Engineering Department at the Municipality of Sidon. This phase is composed of the construction of another dock to be used for tourism purposes.

The project is handled by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The contractor is Al Jihad for Commerce and Contracting.

The current Port of Sidon cannot be expanded due to weather conditions, according to Hakawati. “It would also harm tourism in that area because it is based on the sea view,” he said. The port is situated at Sidon’s sea cornice.

The Municipality also completed the upgrade of a solid-waste-treatment plant, enabling  a doubling of capacity to 350 tons per day.

It is also planning to transform a primary sewage treatment plant to a secondary one. “We are now looking for land and funding to be able to do that,” Hakawati said.

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