Lebanon to Construct New Terminal at Beirut Airport

Planes are grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 19, 2020. (AP)
Planes are grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 19, 2020. (AP)
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Lebanon to Construct New Terminal at Beirut Airport

Planes are grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 19, 2020. (AP)
Planes are grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 19, 2020. (AP)

Lebanon will construct a $122 million terminal at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to be operated by a leading Irish airport company when it's completed in four years, officials said Monday.

Lebanon’s only international airport had a major facelift after the country’s 1975-90 civil war and has been working at full capacity for years. The airport has not undergone an expansion since 1998.

Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamie said Terminal 2 will bring in private sector investments worth $122 million and will handle 3.5 million passengers annually when operations begin in 2027. It will add six docking stands as well as remote ones, he said in a ceremony at government headquarters to announce the launch of the new terminal.

Terminal 2 will be built where the airport's old cargo building used to stand, according to Hamie.

The project comes as Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country’s political class.

“The project opens more horizons for air aviation between Lebanon and the world,” caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. He added that it will help in solving several problems, including crowding at the current terminal.

The project will create 500 direct jobs and 2,000 related jobs, Hamie said, adding that Terminal 2 will be for chartered and low-cost flights.

Hamie said once Terminal 2 is ready it will be operated by leading European company daa International, an airport company in Ireland.

Ireland’s Minister of State James Browne attended Monday’s ceremony in Beirut and was quoted in a statement released by the Lebanese prime minister’s office as saying that the contract signed will deepen business relations between the two countries.

The airport currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20 million in 2030, according to the website of national carrier Middle East Airlines.

Lebanon’s economic crisis that began in October 2019 has left three quarters of the country’s 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees, in poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 95% of its value.



Türkiye Orders Detention of Eight Suspects over Alleged Stock Market Manipulation

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange, Istanbul, Türkiye, May 22, 2018. (AFP Photo)
Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange, Istanbul, Türkiye, May 22, 2018. (AFP Photo)
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Türkiye Orders Detention of Eight Suspects over Alleged Stock Market Manipulation

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange, Istanbul, Türkiye, May 22, 2018. (AFP Photo)
Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange, Istanbul, Türkiye, May 22, 2018. (AFP Photo)

Turkish authorities have issued detention orders for eight suspects accused of manipulating stock prices on the Borsa Istanbul and causing financial losses to small investors, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.

It said that the prosecutor's investigation found unusual price and volume volatility in shares traded on the stock exchange, specifically in one stock.

The suspects are being investigated on charges of establishing a criminal organization and market fraud, Anadolu said, with police seeking the suspects in four Turkish cities.

The case comes amid heightened scrutiny of financial crimes in Türkiye, where regulators have pledged to protect market stability and investors.