The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rasamny, announced the launch of the rehabilitation work of Dahr al-Baydar Road, stressing that the project represents an essential step to reviving one of the most important vital arteries in Lebanon, due to its vital role in linking the capital, Beirut, to the Bekaa region, and its land extension towards Syria and the Arab markets.
In a speech he delivered during the launch ceremony, which included a video presentation of the project, Rasamny explained that Dahr al-Baydar Road is a major hub for the movement of people, goods, and production, noting that the deterioration of its operational condition does not only affect the comfort of passers-by, but also affects traffic safety, the cost of transportation, and the movement of the national economy. He expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and the Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, for their continued support for the ministry’s projects, praising the placing of this project on the path of actual implementation after long years of waiting.
The project is being implemented over a length of about 17 kilometers from the Sawfar axis to the Qatariya junction in Chtaura, and its scope is not limited to asphalt work only, but also includes treating and supporting eight collapse points, re-grading and planning the road, rehabilitating rainwater drainage channels and sewers, in addition to completing traffic safety requirements by installing side barriers, reflectors, and the necessary signals and instructions. Rasamny also revealed a subsequent phased plan to illuminate the entire axis, pointing out that the Ministry has begun testing models of hybrid lighting systems that operate with electricity and solar energy.
On the financial level, the Minister pointed out that previous studies to rehabilitate the road had identified high costs, but the re-evaluation of needs and priorities allowed the approval of an integrated project at a much lower cost, and without any compromise on the required technical specifications, stressing that this rationalization aims to spend public money very efficiently in accordance with the actual need for the road.
Rasamny apologized to the citizens for the traffic congestion resulting from the workshop work, stressing that this inconvenience is met with serious and responsible work that is subject to supervision at its various stages, as the Ministry’s engineers study and follow up on implementation, and the consultant monitors the quality of the work, while the contractor bears full responsibility for adhering to the specifications, warning that no dues will be paid for non-conforming work.
In a related context, the Minister of Works touched on the recent collapses that occurred in the area between Mansouriya and Mkalles as a result of the rainfall, stressing that the Ministry was dealing very firmly with the responsible contractor and consultant. He explained that the Ministry had previously issued warnings to the contractor, indicating that the delay in completing the file, which goes back about a year, is due to the financial inability of some contractors to complete their obligations, and the accompanying accumulation of dust and the closure of sewers before the winter, which led to material damage.
Rasamny revealed that the file had been referred to the Cassation Public Prosecutor, in parallel with MP Ibrahim Kanaan’s transfer of the file to the Financial Public Prosecutor to determine responsibilities and hold those negligent accountable. He stressed that the Ministry, due to its limited human resources, relies on consultants to monitor the workshops, calling on them to deal with this responsibility with the utmost seriousness in order to preserve public money and ensure that it is spent on its correct path.
In conclusion, Rasamny reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to completing the Dahr Al-Baidar project according to the highest technical specifications and under strict supervision, stressing that the Ministry will move forward in implementing road lighting projects by adopting modern hybrid solutions.
