Lebanon announces $13mn plan to restore heritage buildings destroyed in Beirut blasts

Lebanon's Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada has announced a 13 million US dollars plan funded by the World Bank on Thursday, November 18, to reconstruct heritage buildings damaged in Beirut blasts in August 2020. According to ANI report, citing the National News Agency, the declaration was made in a meeting held at Movenpick Hotel in Beirut. The World Bank Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha and Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud were also present.

Mortada informed that the ministry had conducted a field survey to evaluate the damage to the heritage buildings and the level of destruction caused by the fatal blasts. He added that the ministry would expand the scope of restoration of these buildings. The plan will include modern heritage architecture, gardens, historical squares, cultural monuments such as museums and theatres, as well as public spaces, the news agency reported.

Law for the protection of heritage sites

The Lebanese ministry considers passing a draft law to protect heritage sites and buildings. The minister added that the government sees it as the most appropriate solution to preserve the urban heritage and compensate the owners of these buildings.

2020 Beirut explosions

Two massive explosions rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on August 4, 2020. The blasts struck the Port of Beirut, killing at least 218 people, injuring approximately 7,000, damaging US$15 billion worth of property, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the deadly blasts damaged some 640 heritage buildings, 60 of which were critically deteriorated. The large explosion is believed to be caused by improper storage of approximately 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at a warehouse. 

'Li Beirut' initiative by UNESCO

On 27 August 2020, UNESCO launched an international fundraising appeal, Li Beirut (For Beirut in Arabic), to support the rehabilitation of schools, historical heritage buildings, museums, galleries and the creative economy, which were destroyed by the powerful blasts. During the launch, UNESCO pledged to lead international coordination efforts to recover Beirut’s culture and heritage. 

According to an official statement by UNESCO in August this year, the organisation launched a documentation project in September 2020 to estimate the destruction of Beirut’s cultural and architectural heritage. It was funded by UNESCO’s Emergency Heritage Fund. The French start-up ICONEM carried out the project jointly with the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities (DGA). In Rmeil, Medawar and Saifi districts, UNESCO identified priority historic buildings at risk of collapse. The UNESCO Emergency Heritage Fund then financed the stabilisation of two buildings. With the financial support of Germany, UNESCO stabilised 12 heritage buildings.  

On May 16, 2021, the Italian government and UNESCO entered into a €1 million funding agreement for rehabilitation and reopening of the Sursock Museum, one of Beirut’s few monuments that present 18th and 19th-century Lebanese manorial architecture in the Venetian and Ottoman styles. According to UNESCO, the Italian funds will be invested over one year to restore the museum and contribute to its future reopening. 

Image: AP