Lebanon's second city is about to be pushed out of its comfort zone...
http://static.flickr.com/69/162272449_059670e5af_o.gif

Don’t be fooled by the fancy buildings and a bunch of new glittery cafés. Tripoli looks like a city, but it is in fact one big town. People know each other, tradition is entrenched in most social interactions, and gossip is a favorite pastime.

Tripoli is nominally Lebanon’s second capital, but measured by economic activity, it trails way behind Beirut. It has no significant economic motor to hold it together. But this is about to change.

Chinese Traders have somehow concluded that the best place to establish a regional trade center to promote their products is the Rachid Karami International Fair in Tripoli. Their decision is about to transform the entire Tripolitan economy.

The Project will generate 3000 jobs in its first phase. Estimates indicate that 400,000 people will come to Tripoli annually to trade. Most visitors will be from Arab and African countries, and most will need to be housed, fed and entertained. Considering the embarrassing scarcity of hotels in Tripoli, we are talking about big opportunities in the tourism and real estate sectors. Whether or not Tripolitanian investors will seize them is a different matter; Northerners are notorious for playing safe with their money (many live off bank interests).

The thousands of Chinese, added to the Arab and African traders, will also bring a concept that was previously unheard of in homogenous Tripoli: Multi-culturalism.

Does anyone know a website that sells real-estate in tirpoli?

Does anyone know a website that sells real-estate in tirpoli?


you could try http://www.opportunities.com.lb/Lebanon/Default.asp and check the classifieds section. However, properties in the north are rarely posted.

Does anyone know a website that sells real-estate in tirpoli?
Try this www.baytouna.com

Try this www.baytouna.com

thanks but this is not what im looking for, I need a real-estate website aimed precisely for tripoli or beirut.

thanks :)

thanks but this is not what im looking for, I need a real-estate website aimed precisely for tripoli or beirut.

thanks :)


i found this website today, http://www.real-estate-lebanon.com/

hope that helps

cheers

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/2823/tripolism8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

near the fair grounds it looks like there is new going to be a new develpment there are roads there looks like a planed area

^^ Yes I hear there are BIG things planned for Tripoli...

I like the Sound of that !!!!!! maybe build a Shoping center there i think they only have one and its small really small

thanx Effer. The problem with tripoli is that the streets are very small. The city now has a lot of traffic jams, what would be in 2015 or 2020? YOu can't buld a city only for 20 year - you have to think 300 or 400 years into the future.

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8981/4505138686fff3d4174bzr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4892/45410080097dc9bc3e8oiy8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^ I read a couple of weeks ago an article concerning the start of renovation of a Tripoli Khan (might be the one in the middle of the pic above) and some other intersting improvements concerning buildings facades renovation on some particular street. I don't seem to find the article now otherwise I'll post it (it was not in English though)

^^ The Khan Al saboun,Soap Courtyard is being renovated.also other Main Historical Buildings.

Its about Time that city gets a face lift !!!!!!!!!!!!!
that last pic libano posted is gastly !!!!!!!!!!!,

They should watch out when renovating not to harm the historical buildings, they are to valuabe for the city, it's what makes Trablos a charming city.

Before

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/8186/169ygic2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Shot at 2007-08-17

AFTER

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/160/11280531975390d670e6bsp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Shot at 2007-08-17

Wow it looks brandnew...imagine if they keep repeating that how beatiful it woul dlook

Many parts of the Old city are under renovation,so,i''m Expecting a brand new "old" tripoli"

that looks fanastasic ! it looks like safi Village
its great there starting to restore all there old buidlings i hope they do it to the whole city !

courtesy of light guard

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/879/tripolihu4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

im hoping this area will get restored

looks like theres a lot of renovation projects in Tripoli, here's another one

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5822/11601861774ddec2a805oij7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Finally, it is about time to intervene in order to preserve Tarablos old city! I have roots there as there is a Khan named after my ancestors: Khan Al-Ahdab ;)

Tripoli has a weath or architecture. Best perserved Mamaluk era buildings in the world.. etc..This could be a very hot sexy city..

Wow it looks brandnew...imagine if they keep repeating that how beatiful it woul dlook

omg on THE CONTRARY...they shouldnt have RENEWED them...now they look fake and "disneyland"like. they should have just cleaned them, and restored them. aaaargh. they're actualy realy ugly now :(

^^ i agree, 'over-restoration' is not nice at all...they need Italian specialists for that job since they are the best in the world for such things

^^ It is better than nothing :)

omg on THE CONTRARY...they shouldnt have RENEWED them...now they look fake and "disneyland"like. they should have just cleaned them, and restored them. aaaargh. they're actualy realy ugly now :(

They will mellow quickly: the sun, rain, and most of all, the pollutants - smoke, lead, acid - from our massive fleet of new and ancient cars will see to that!

Its good to see how people are actully trying to make there homes look nicer in that area, lets hope they other homes will follow.

^^Yes,they look so good,but imagine if they were all roof-topped,2rmeed a7mar :drool:

^^ that whould be so awesome ...........
it would look like saifi village i guess whith all the coulors but more authentic

^^it'll look like one of those greek/italian/S.french Mediterranean towns!!! i really hope it happens some time.

If all the houses were painted it will look good.. the part were the road is looks really depressing.

Thats so good how there restoring all the old buildings, would it be some sort of project going around to restore Tripoli ?

^^Yes,That's Exactly What's Happening.

who's paying for it all though?

WOW!!! Great Job!!!Lebanon needs this kind of facelift!! I hope they'll do this to all of the Lebanese cities. Tyre needs it too.

Is this kind of buildings (traditionnal architectures, archs) common in Tripoli?

who's paying for it all though?

the UN

This Project is going on in the Cities of ' Tripoli,Byblos,Baalbeck and Tyre' maybe Sidon as well.

^^In Tyre too?? Great news!!

^^Yes,i already know some buildings have been renovated in Tyre, Around seeside,i donnu some sort of an old neighbourhood there.that wasn't too long ago,like a month or so.

Tripoli has a lot of dull boring ugly concrete buildings, I wounder if those buildings will get renovated at least.... I hate those appartment blocks with the stripes between each floor its annoying !

That River that flows though Tripoli, could use some cleaning that area can look very nice if they fix that area up. like what Hassoun said about Beirut River, They could do the same thing in Tripoli.

Thats so good how there restoring all the old buildings, would it be some sort of project going around to restore Tripoli ?

who's paying for it all though?

There are different projects going on to renovate specific areas of Tripoli. The one near Tripoli castle is part of the Lebanon Cultural Heritage and Urban Development Project.

This project covers 5 cities and is partly financed by the World Bank (http://go.worldbank.org/QH9NN3O5X0) and by other European organizations such as AFD (http://www.afd.fr/jahia/Jahia/site/myjahiasite/lang/en/ConcoursFinancierLiban). Then there is restoration work done in the old Khans such as Khan al Khayateen and is financed by Spain.

Ive seen alot of Progess in Tripoli, I havent seen anything on Saida yet.

^^ waaw... that's really amazing ......hope they ll do the hole city

It would be good if they did the Whole City, Tripoli needs this bad , its Lebanons Second City. I think it would be good if they expanded there port.

RECENT ONE

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2023/2408934170_f085cee6dc_b.jpg

^^Is that sandy land reclaimed??

^^Yes,they are Expanding the Port.
U know that area around ' Ma3rad Rashid Karame' Especially towards the sea can be used to build so many highrises.

I was wondering why Tripoli does not have an International airport, it has the population to support one? :) ^^

^^Actually there are plans to turn the 'Renee Muawad' Airport that's 17 km north of Tripoli into an International Airport that serves Tripoli and North Lebanon.

I looked at the photo and theres enough space there for one. ^^ :yes:

^^Actually there are plans to turn the 'Renee Muawad' Airport that's 17 km north of Tripoli into an International Airport that serves Tripoli and North Lebanon.

what :S an International Airport in Tripoli ....I dont see the point
plus I rather land in Beirut any day and drive up 45 minutes to North Lebanon.

This is a catasrophy!!! Look what they've done to the old souks!!!
http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/40572/2432979340027145454S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2432979340027145454njIExF)

http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/39499/2327943860027145454S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2327943860027145454oQJVVU)

Other parts of Tripoli...
http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/39495/2334317670027145454S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2334317670027145454srflzo)

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/39641/2401171800027145454S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2401171800027145454JPrxCX)

^^It looks gr8 , this is not a Catastrophy :S it's still the same,but new :)

GR8 JOB !!!!!!!!

^^They painted it WHITE!!! They changed the old authentic stone with white paint!!!Ok,,,it might look good, but the shouldn't have done it this way!!! What happene to the stones?? Besides, it doesn't look that old anymore...
BTW, the top looks like the Beirut Souks renderings...

^^^^Oh wow i like it! U kno it might not be the old brick, but i think it has a very meditteranean feel to it, and it looks so clean! I luv tripoli and i really noticed alot of redevelopment and progress driving through it, i must post some pics that i have if i can find them

it's not a "catasrophy!!! " but I have to agree with BG... it looks too neat

iS that part of the world bank project to restore heritage buildings etc?

^^YES

it's not a "catasrophy!!! " but I have to agree with BG... it looks too neat

it can only get dirtier. so in a year or so it'll be brownish/grey again!

^^They painted it WHITE!!! They changed the old authentic stone with white paint!!!Ok,,,it might look good, but the shouldn't have done it this way!!! What happene to the stones?? Besides, it doesn't look that old anymore...
BTW, the top looks like the Beirut Souks renderings...

I don't know if this part of the souk was originally painted white, but if the stone it's built with is 'ramleh', then the plaster and paint is explicable according to current interpretation of tradition. I've heard architects and engineers argue over the past few years that ramleh needs to be plastered over because it's friable and not very resistant to the elements - and apparently the tradition was plaster it over and paint it.

That said, I much prefer the warmth of stone to plaster and white paint!

^^I fixed it. You should be able to see them now :)

Great pictures BG! Thanks a lot.

It looks as if they worked on one side of that street leading from the square in the first picture. Hope the other side gets done. Even the 60-70's-ish building on the corner with the concrete brise-soleil is interesting - and it looks like the buildings next to it could be attractive if painted up. Do you know how much more work under the world bank project wil be done?

Street and traffic do need work. Need some medians planted with trees (if there is room) to screen and break up the mass of cars. Don't know much about infrastructure projects in Tripoli...

^^ and yes,they are working on 'Qadisha/Abu Ali' River banks.the whole OLD CITY is under restoration.GOOD LUCK :)

That's great news ..... but what's "working on the river" is exactly?

on the Banks of the river,i donnu exactly.

Looks like and Hopfully they are ... giving that River area a make over !

I think they are going to create a promenade. If you look at the right of the picture you can see where there is old landscaping (under the lamposts)...imagine what it would look like if they replaced the lamps...bricked the whole area with benches, treea etc...It would transform the entire area!

^^ Tripoli,needs more investments.REALLY,it's gonna look real Good,multi million dollars projects plz :D

Does anyone know a website that sells real-estate in tirpoli?

Lebanon apartments , Beirut apartments , Tripoli apartments , Saida apartments , Jounieh apartments , Jbeil apartments , Bekaa Apartments , All Lebanon


www.happyhomelb.com







.

I like that Building with the Glass on that round a about. wish there was more them in that area.

so much green spaces, it would be great for new buildings of there will have to be large green parks also.

I hope Tripoli expands into a bigger city adthey start building some towers beuase there is space for that unlike Beirut where there is only limited space to build on and the satillite pic. a couple of pages back..i would like to saytat the park near the fair where you see a few buildings is now COMPLETLEY filled with them they just built like around like 70 buildings in that area all BRAND NEW! its amazing how fast Tripoli is developing (trus me it needs it) i hope they build some tower soon

http://mina.lebnan-online.com/images/mina_tripoli_lebanon_1_.jpg

Note this is only the Mina area of tripoli

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUZpJTtmmVs/SHsrdc77fiI/AAAAAAAAAXc/ITf21a80_2k/s400/Tripoli,%2BLebanon%2BPhoto%2BModern%2BStreet%2Band%2BBuildings.jpg

This is what most of Tripoli Looks lik very well planned out city and very EASY to navigate

نهر ابو علي
or Nahr Abu Ali is the river

Anyone have any new news???:banana:

^^ Unfortunately, I dont think we currently have anyone in Tripoli that can provide us with updates. I suggest you look for website of some developers/architects that are based there?

I was in Tripoli the other day alot of buildings near the Halleb have been restored and repainted etc. and there is alot of new appartment buildings geting built near the enterance of Tripoli near the spinnys etc.

I can say Tripoli has gotten alot better in the past 5 years alot of new trendy resturants have opened.

I lived in Tripoli for like 10 years...and i go there every Summer so I am kinda there...... They opened 2 McDonals there last Year....They painted all the building near Hallab....there are around 100 new buildings around where the Internations Fair is......buildings near Nahr Abu Ali are being restored..much more stuff too

wow, thats really quite similer to what I just said above you.....

Ya lol i can get a load of pics if you want

http://www.viamina.com/images/01.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/02.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/15.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/11.jpg

This is a relatively new Boutique hotel in the old section of el Mina, Tripoli. It was a residential French Mandate building that was converted into a boutique hotel. Tripoli overall has very few hotels for it's relative size. God knows they need more. I got the pics from the hotel's website enjoy.

^^ NICE !!!!

tourists like such type of hotels !!! Old town should have dozens of Boutique hotels.

Thanx for sharing :)

Very Nice... i hope we see more projects like this in Tripoli

I dont think thats new, I remember viewing there website a couple of years ago.

I said relatively new lol!

^^ Whats the status?

http://www.viamina.com/images/01.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/02.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/15.jpg
http://www.viamina.com/images/11.jpg

This is a relatively new Boutique hotel in the old section of el Mina, Tripoli. It was a residential French Mandate building that was converted into a boutique hotel. Tripoli overall has very few hotels for it's relative size. God knows they need more. I got the pics from the hotel's website enjoy.

it is a nice project !!!!:cheers:
but it doesn't look colonial though, it is very plain:ohno:
where is the parisian-style decor, it doesn't have that euro-Mediterranean-levantine-mandate era feel to it !?!?!??!?!:dunno:
but in an area so deprived anything is accepted:lol:

I heard last night on the news minister Aridi saying that the misitry has begun working on building a new modern large-scale container terminal in tripoli, just like the one in beirut.:cheers:
Works will include deepening the main quay from the current 12 meters to 15 meters deep, and building an 800 sq meter area for handling the containers (ie, larger than the current area in beirut port).:banana:
This will allow the port to handle the largest ships in the world (an advantage that the rest of the east mediterrenean ports do not enjoy), and handle tens of thousands of containers per year.
This project along with the free trade zone project, if truly built, will skyrocket the tripoli and north lebanon economy to unseen levels.:banana:

AWESOME!!! we will need a Port Of tripoli Thread...Just FYI Beirut Container terminal has
Stacking area: 365,000m2. Capacity: 745,000 TEU/year. Before the current plan to expand..

Is the stacking area just the land or the land plus the air stacking? anyone know how they calculate?

If it can handle the Post Panamax like Beirut...Lebanon will be one continuous port:) Saida had plans for a container terminal also..

Instead of building one in Tripoli they should concentrate on Beirut's port to make it one of the biggest in the mediterrenean!

Instead of building one in Tripoli they should concentrate on Beirut's port to make it one of the biggest in the mediterrenean!

Tripoli has been economically deprevied for years...for once they actually do something in Tripoli, don't be so pessimistic

I wonder if this will eventually raise the price of my home hmmmm..


http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/ourhouseed.jpg

Tripoli has been economically deprevied for years...for once they actually do something in Tripoli, don't be so pessimistic

Thats true ! Its about time the capital of North has something big like this.

AWESOME!!! we will need a Port Of tripoli Thread...Just FYI Beirut Container terminal has
Stacking area: 365,000m2. Capacity: 745,000 TEU/year. Before the current plan to expand..

Is the stacking area just the land or the land plus the air stacking? anyone know how they calculate?

If it can handle the Post Panamax like Beirut...Lebanon will be one continuous port:) Saida had plans for a container terminal also..

i truly do not know !?!?!??!!?:ohno:
i tried to search for an article about this issue but i couldn't find any:nuts:
i heard about this project on future tv two days ago:)
and according to what i understood from the news report, yes the port will be able to cater gigantic ships like the panamax
and if this plan is implemented along with the saida port, lebanon will be reveiving billions of dollars of revinues just like singapore:banana:

Improvements to Tripoli's International Fair:

The new facilities, which will be added to the complex, will complete the transformation of this unusual site, into a true tourist destination for the whole region and beyond. The DBOT contract calls for the establishment of:

A- An amusement theme park of internationally high standards, incorporating the cultural and historical heritage of Lebanon in general and the city of Tripoli in particular.

B- A 300 room, five star hotel of cutting edge design equipped with a state of the art facilities and services. (Completed)

C- An I-Max theater (3-D wrap around screen) seating 500 - 700 spectators featuring the most advanced technology in spectacular special effects.

The estimated date for completion is about ***3.5 YEARS*** from date of award.

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/plan3.jpg

Thats so awesome ! .. Is that 300 room hotel the Quality Inn ? or is that a different hotel ? Its about time Tripoli gets something like this.

Thats so awesome ! .. Is that 300 room hotel the Quality Inn ? or is that a different hotel ? Its about time Tripoli gets something like this.

Its the Quality Inn

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/11606919.jpg

That hotel has been there for years. I think that project is old.

^^ just as expected that "project" is out of date I remember reading about it years ago. I dont think anything has been done on that fair grounds.

http://www.lebanon-fair.com/

^^ just as expected that "project" is out of date I remember reading about it years ago. I dont think anything has been done on that fair grounds.

http://www.lebanon-fair.com/

except for the hotel :)

Is the fair grounds open to the public or is it closed ?. I didnt get to go to Tripoli much in Lebanon. Dont know much about it.

This guy dosent seem to like the idea of Tripoli being restored..... Its annoying when people dont like redevelopment.

Karami: Tripoli is not New York, it does not need international reconstruction plan

Former Prime Minister Omar Karami said in an electoral rally in Tripoli on Sunday that the city is not New York, and does not need an international reconstruction plan that would take decision making away from the people.

Karami said projects are ready for Tripoli that will provide around 20,000 jobs. He also said there is “a very urgent needs to stop the shameful begging festival that the people of Tripoli have witnessed.”

___________________________________________________

I cut the rest out...

I heard today on "Kalam El Nass on LBC" from Ghazi El 3aridi (the minister of works (Ashghaal) that they were making the port of Tripoli deeper (15M) to be able to function again "as a proper port", and he said the port of Tripoli has been abused for so long because "they" were waiting for the Beirut Port to reach maximum capacity (and theres also political reasons) to start working on the port of Tripoli and to start upgrading it and increasing the depth to be able to handle larger ships and become a "proper port"

*A Chinese Company has won the "contract" to fix up the port of Tripoli (saw it on LBC 2 min ago)

Launching of first touristic sea transportation service between Lebanon and Cyprus
August 25, 2009



The first touristic sea transportation service between Tripoli in North Lebanon and Famagusta on Turkish side in Cyprus was launched on Tuesday. The launching took place in the presence of Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic.

The ship departs from Tripoli port on Thursday morning, makes a stopover at the Syrian port city of Afamia before heading to Famagusta and then returning to Lebanon on Monday night.

The touristic company, which has launched the service, is considering the launching of another between Tripoli and the Turkish city of Mersin in a voyage, which would last for a week.

-NOW Staff

Launching of first touristic sea transportation service between Lebanon and Cyprus
August 25, 2009



The first touristic sea transportation service between Tripoli in North Lebanon and Famagusta on Turkish side in Cyprus was launched on Tuesday. The launching took place in the presence of Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic.

The ship departs from Tripoli port on Thursday morning, makes a stopover at the Syrian port city of Afamia before heading to Famagusta and then returning to Lebanon on Monday night.

The touristic company, which has launched the service, is considering the launching of another between Tripoli and the Turkish city of Mersin in a voyage, which would last for a week.

-NOW Staff

Why would the ship have to stop in Syria?

Launching of first touristic sea transportation service between Lebanon and Cyprus
August 25, 2009



The first touristic sea transportation service between Tripoli in North Lebanon and Famagusta on Turkish side in Cyprus was launched on Tuesday. The launching took place in the presence of Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic.

The ship departs from Tripoli port on Thursday morning, makes a stopover at the Syrian port city of Afamia before heading to Famagusta and then returning to Lebanon on Monday night.

The touristic company, which has launched the service, is considering the launching of another between Tripoli and the Turkish city of Mersin in a voyage, which would last for a week.

-NOW Staff

This route is bound to cause diplomatic problems for Lebanon as it means de facto recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This can potentially harm Lebanon's relations with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.

Why would the ship have to stop in Syria?

They don't have to. That's just the routing the ship operator chose. It lets them pick up additional traffic, so it was probably a business decision.

Does this billboard have anything to do with it?

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/cruise2-1.jpg

It might, I see it mentions Cyprus. It's too small to read any details though.

It's the one , this is how it looked like on the news.

This route is bound to cause diplomatic problems for Lebanon as it means de facto recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This can potentially harm Lebanon's relations with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.

You are right,
but if it's a private operator it shouldn't be a problem, however the presence of the Turkish Ambassador is politically incorrect.

**Important News**

I emailed "Le Mall" and asked them if they had any plans for a Tripoli branch and this is the response i got:

Dear Sir,

This is still a plan there is nothing confirmed yet, but y not!?

Thank you and best regards,

(so there are plans for a Le Mall in Tripoli! But nothing is confirmed yet) :cheers:

Tripoli needs a decent Mall, City Complex is old and creepy.

Tripoli needs a decent Mall, City Complex is old and creepy.

Its actually extremely creepy and there's always there strange smell in there (not bad) just strange

Controversial North Cyprus ferry leaves political storm in its wake


http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/200910503702-sebastien.jpg
Boat carrying passengers from lebanon to breakaway region flouting international law


TRIPOLI: The gleaming passenger catamaran that moored alongside a Tripoli port jetty that early October morning seemed somehow out of place amid the horde of towering, rusty commercial vessels. Yet what was more striking about the Akgünler I is that while much less glorious ships prepared for their departure with cranes and busy crews loading multicolored containers, the catamaran’s deck was deserted. The ship seemed destined for a decisively anticlimactic departure that contrasts with the significance many have attributed to its service.
“We are waiting for the two Romanians,” says Ziad Naboulsi, the ship’s agent, with an expression on his face that appears to contain amusement and annoyance.
Naboulsi showed up at 6 a.m. to supervise the boarding of the ship and see that it sails off properly to its controversial destination: Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. But the only two passengers to join the boat at Lebanon were yet to arrive, and it was past 8 a.m.
“I called them. They are still in their hotel. They drank a bit too much last night and overslept,” Naboulsi says, laughing.
Delaying a whole vessel for three hours because of two latecomers seems to contradict the whole notion of profit-making. Yet Naboulsi has instructed the captain to wait. Given the circumstances, it is leaving without them that would seem absurd – why undertake the journey at all, if it is not to transport a single passenger?
Sami Sassine, the accomplished businessman who holds the license for the ferry’s operation, is keeping it afloat despite its obvious unprofitability; an average of 10 passengers per journey have boarded the 300-berth ship from Tripoli this season. “When I took the boat, I was thinking of profit. Now I fight for the principle,” he says.
Under normal circumstances Sassine’s business would be a successful one. The price of a ticket to board the Akgünler – at $125 – should be attractive to the numerous tourists that flock to Lebanon every summer. Famagusta, only a few hours away, should tempt any holiday-seeker with its pristine beaches and inexpensive resorts. “The area is very beautiful,” says Sassine, with a dreamy tone in his voice. Most of all, Sassine’s company is the one and only – by air or sea – that transports passengers from Lebanon to North Cyprus.
But behind its unremarkable commercial façade, the Akgünler has collided with a burning political controversy.
By establishing a transit line with the breakaway region of North Cyprus – with which the island’s government and many others say it is illegal to associate – the ship has entered murky waters that extend far beyond its commercial operation, and even beyond the borders of the two small countries it connects.
As a result, authorities of the Republic of Cyprus fear that, by connecting Tripoli to North Cyprus, the ship may boost the latter’s claim that it is independent from the former.
Ethnic Turks unilaterally declared the independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TNRC) more than three decades ago, but the move was only recognized by Turkey, fueling Cyprus’ hostility toward the TRNC’s main backer.
The UN Security Council has previously called for its member states “not to facilitate or assist the [North separatists].”
The issue is all the more significant because the two foes have recently been engaging in peace efforts to re-unify the island that are widely seen as more promising than any previous efforts.
“I know the United Nations doesn’t recognize Northern Cyprus,” says Sassine. But scores of tourists travel to the area from the coasts of Europe every year, he adds. “My passengers should be given the same right.”
Meanwhile, despite Sassine’s demand, Cypriot authorities have vehemently condemned the service with an unrelenting diplomatic offensive aimed at stopping it from undertaking its weekly trip.
Turkey’s accession to the European Union is also part of the puzzle, because the EU candidate was told it should straighten out the Cypriot question if it wished to join the fold. “Cyprus has declared all ports [in the breakaway region] closed to traffic,” says Kyriacos Kouros, a charge d’affaires at the Cypriot Embassy in Beirut, explaining why it deems the ferry unlawful.
The Cypriot government has been sending demarches asking Lebanon for this line to stop, he adds, referring to Cyprus’ swift reaction as an “expression of [its] sovereignty.”
Cypriot authorities also resorted to more direct actions to deter potential passengers from using the ferry service.
“North Cyprus: Closer than you think!” reads a series of ads Sassine published in nationwide Lebanese papers a few weeks before he launched the service. But the ads were flanked with a notice bearing the emblem of the Cypriot Embassy: “Direct visits to northern occupied Cyprus are illegal,” read the text. “Penalties can be imposed.”
The Turkish authorities, which represent Northern Cyprus throughout the world, insist that the ferry should continue servicing its passengers to fuel the economies of Tripoli and Famagusta, as well as to break North Cyprus’ long isolation – a humanitarian imperative, it claims.
North Cyprus cannot trade freely as a result of its unratified existence, and it is dependent on Turkish economic aid.
With a GDP per capita reported at $14,765 in 2008, the International Monetary Fund would rank North Cyprus 54th, between developing countries Gabon and Mexico, if it surveyed the area’s economic performance. In comparison, the Republic of Cyprus is ranked 29th alongside industrialized economies.
“There are no political connotations at all,” says Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic as he rebuffs accusations from the Cypriot government. “The reason [for establishing the ferry] was to contribute to the economy of Tripoli … 500,000 tourists visit North Cyprus each year. If I can bring 50,000 tourists to Lebanon, I can make a big contribution to the economy of Lebanon and to that of North Cyprus,” he adds with enthusiasm.
“I think that Sassine is frustrated by the attitude of the Cyprus Embassy,” he says. “He’s a businessman trying to make some money.”
While the ferry controversy may be novel to Lebanon, it has been unleashing political passions north of Tripoli for the last two years, after the service was established between the Syrian port of Latakia and that of Famagusta in 2007. The move proved costly, straining the relations between the two countries.
Despite complaints from Cyprus, the ferry is still popular with customers in Syria, where about 150 people were to board the Akgünler on its last journey of the season.
Extending the Akgünler’s route to start from Lebanon was less sensitive than the original route, Kouros acknowledges, because it only prolonged the trip to Latakia, making an indirect connection to North Cyprus.
“We consider Lebanon realized the problematic aspect [of this line], and this is why it didn’t accept a direct line,” he says. “It would have been a much worse situation if it had been direct,” he adds.
Fawzi Salloukh, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, also makes light of the situation: “The impact of the ferry will not have any negative influence,” he says.
But the temperature might be set to rise, as a direct line is exactly what Sassine has in mind to boost his manifests for the coming season.
“An inconvenience with the ferry is that it passes through Syria, and most Lebanese don’t want to go there,” he says. “But if it went straight … you can talk about thousands of passengers,” he adds, revealing a thought process signaling that the improbable ferry will be keeping on course for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Sassine said he was looking ahead to another season for his ferry, his ambition not one bit deterred by the unexpected political storm into which the Akgünler has run. “The ferry will be back in April or May next year,” he says.

this is a really bad idea considering that Lebanon and Cyprus have good relations...They should instead make a more useful and legal ferry route between Beirut and Larnaca for example! The turks in Cyrus are occupying a portion of the country, something Lebanon is very familiar with given that south Lebanon was occupied until 2000! They should stop the route immediately!

^^ Its meant to have an economic benefit on the city of Tripoli..why would we want it coming from Beirut? I see nothing wrong with the route because they are stopping over in Syria which doesn't make it a direct route so just imagine you taking a ferry from Syria to North Cyprus

Lebanese President just landed in Tripoli next to the Quality Inn Hotel not sure why he's there

^^ he was there for a conference.

^^
http://www.nowlebanon.com/Library/Images/MainPagePictures/sleiman-decentralization-42.jpg
President Michel Sleiman (R) speaks during a Middle Eastern Decentralization Conference in Tripoli on Saturday evening. (Dalati and Nohra)

^^

eeoQHb3w0g0

http://i36.tinypic.com/24gop3r.jpg
Aridi tours Tripoli ahead of Chinese port deal :banana: :banana:
Friday, November 13, 2009

BEIRUT: Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi accompanied by officials from his ministry visited on Thursday the northern coastal city of Tripoli. The team toured the city’s downtown as well as the neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen, Bab al-Tabbaneh, Al-Qobbeh and the surrounding of the Lebanese University campus, where they inspected road work projects undertaken by their ministry in the area. Aridi’s tour also included a visit to the Justice Palace, and Tripoli’s seaport where he inspected the ministry’s projects there. Speaking during a news conference attended by Chinese Ambassador Liu Zhiming, Aridi disclosed that he visited Tripoli to give the green light to a Chinese contracting company to officially start implementing an 18-month project to develop Tripoli’s port, worth $48 million. – The Daily Star

Mabrook Tripoli! Finally the Port will actually get some real Traffic and become a Modern Port, this is really a major event that amount of money hasnt been invested into Tripoli ever since the Fair was built :cheers1:

The works include the construction of a 600-metre quay, seabed excavation and construction of transport and service infrastructure. They will be implemented by the Office d' Exploitation du Port de Tripoli (OEPT), an autonomous public body created in 1959, and operating under the aegis of both the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, as well as the Ministry of Finance

BTW its Euros not dollars..so its about 66 mill dollars

btw what happened with the Beirut port expansion project?? The contract was approved...no works started yet?

^^
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=485965&highlight=port+beirut

I have been searching all across to figure out what this building is for, and It turns out that this is the new BAU (Beirut Arab University) campus under construction in Tripoli

I got this from the BAU site:

"The site is located 30 kilometers away from the University's main campus in Beirut. ... that would help fulfill its policy of expansion in different parts of Lebanon. ... Tripoli branch is still under construction"

Here are some Pictures Courtesy of Me (taken in July):

http://i45.tinypic.com/2ebrc46.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/307qiqp.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/15po0lj.jpg

Courtesy of Mina Online taken in July:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2qx0s90.jpg

Possible Location of Plot, I am not exactly sure where the plot is along the corniche but its in that area:

http://i48.tinypic.com/sc6syu.jpg

So Tripoli is going to have a new University (BAU) along with another one but I do not know what kind it is, and I do have a picture of it but I cannot seem to find it, heres the exact location of the other University thats U\C right now:

http://i49.tinypic.com/2cee8p.jpg

It seems like the Mina Museum is close to being completed (taken Dec 1)

Courtesy of We Love Tripoli:

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Musuem.jpg

^^ yeah it is !!! and its looking great :)

but what are they going to display in this museum ???
i mean are there enough significant tripoli-Mina historical artifacts for a museum ????
the same goes for the planned Saida museum...we dont have anything worthy of exhibiting.......

so it looks like we're gonna have a bunch of useless insignificant museums here and there in Leb

^^ I actually have absolutely no clue what they will be displaying, but the Museum is very large (in size) so they must have alot of items in there. I will be visiting it in the Summer, and Ill take pics of the inside. I am pretty sure there is enough history and artifacts for it to be a proper museum remember Tripoli was under the control of the Phoenicians, Assyrian Empire, Persian Empire, Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Caliphate, the Seljuk Empire, Crusader States, the Mamluks, and the Ottoman Empire.

^^ yeah it is !!! and its looking great :)

but what are they going to display in this museum ???
i mean are there enough significant tripoli-Mina historical artifacts for a museum ????
the same goes for the planned Saida museum...we dont have anything worthy of exhibiting.......

so it looks like we're gonna have a bunch of useless insignificant museums here and there in Leb

^^Are you kidding? Saida is super rich in artifacts from current and past excavations. Tripoli is the same. It is also possible these are regional museums not just city.

^^ i'm not questioning saida and tripoli's rich history...
but what i'm saying is that what is truly left from those eras that is worth creating a museum for....inu the national museum barely has anything (maybe except for some very valueble peices on the first floor)

So Tripoli is going to have a new University (BAU) along with another one but I do not know what kind it is, and I do have a picture of it but I cannot seem to find it, heres the exact location of the other University thats U\C right now:

http://i49.tinypic.com/2cee8p.jpg

Found it (lower left)

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Untitled-23.jpg

Seems like theres some works going on near the River (taken 2 weeks ago)

http://i48.tinypic.com/2num7bp.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2hphd1g.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2cfxesk.jpg

Japan's gift for Tripoli's Municipality: the value of U.S. $ 94,620


President signed the Union of Municipalities Fayhaa Rachid Jamali, and the Ambassador of Japan in Lebanon Koichi Kawamaki a gift which is a 3-car engines to the fire service in the value of 94,620 U.S. dollars at the embassy in Beirut, in the presence of director of the Abdullah Abdul Wahab and the number of members of the embassy.
Ambassador Kawamaki hope to contribute this gift to improve the fire-fighting in the north city of Tripoli, in general, and in particular, and pointed out that this funding came through the civil donations to support humanitarian projects safety of Japan, and noted that this program supports development projects at the grassroots level proposed by the bodies such as non-governmental organizations and local government authorities in Lebanon.

He Kawakami, Japan has made so far $ 9 million since 1996 under this program.
Jamali thanked the Japanese ambassador and officials of the state for their continued support for such projects.
Japan's gift for Tripoli's Municipality: the value of U.S. $ 94,620


He said: "I had the honor to sign a contract grant from the Government of Japan and the signing process was between me and the ambassador to Japan, a gift include the provision of 3 fire engines for the Fire Brigade Union, which suffers from severe shortages in equipment, this gift is very important to the city and its inhabitants, as it will help us to provide better services for the city and its society. "
He added: "She expressed thanks to Ambassador and diplomats in the embassy for their efforts to end the technical file, as I had hoped the ambassador to convey our sincere thanks to his government and people of Japan for their continued support for all types of social services".
Involved union chief in Lebanon, Ghassan Ghosn, the head of a delegation of the Federation leadership in the Twelfth General Conference of the International Federation of Arab Trade Unions, which will be held in the city of Khartoum - Sudan from 1 to February 3, 2010 will be elected as new secretary general of the International Federation of Arab Trade Unions, a post which stood by the President of the General Workers Union in Lebanon.

هل بدأ العد العكسي لتحويل خان العسكر في منطقة الدباغة – طرابلس فندقاً سياحياً تراثياً بعد اخلاء الدفعة الاولى من قاطنيه واصحاب المحال الداخلية الى مبنيين جديدين شيدتهما بلدية طرابلس لسكان الخان في منطقة مجاورة؟
متى ستخلى الدفعة الثانية من قاطني الطبقة الارضية في القسم الغربي من الخان تمهيداً لبدء عملية التأهيل والترميم النهائية؟ وكيف ستصبح المنطقة التي تحوطه في اطار مشروع الإرث الثقافي الذي يموّله البنك الدولي والذي يشمل سقف مجرى نهر ابو علي وتحويل الضفة الغربية منه للمشاة؟
قبل الاجابة عن هذه الاسئلة، لا بد من الاشارة الى ان خان العسكر هو واحد من نحو 60 خاناً ورد ذكرها في كتب المؤرخين. الا ان الشائع منها والمعروف، لا يزيد على الاربعين. في حين لا يزال الطرابلسيون المخضرمون يتذكرون خانات قديمة معظمها لا يزال على حاله وان تحوّل جزء كبير منها للسكن او للصناعة: "خان الصابون" و"خان الخياطين" و"خان المصريين" للصباغة، و"خان الجاويش" لصنع اخشاب المفروشات، وخانات كثيرة في التبانة وسوق القمح هي لتجارة الحبوب وتخزينها.
لقد اندثرت معظم الخانات نتيجة تحويلها منازل او بسبب هدمها لبناء منازل بعد وضع اليد عليها، او من جراء الحرب الاهلية التي اطاحت عام 1985 بالعديد منها. كذلك تقوّض بعضها في منطقة التبانة التي كانت تضم وحدها اكثر من عشرة خانات خصصت لتجارة الحبوب والمواشي والزيوت ومواقف للحافلات.

لا يزال صامداً
خان العسكر لا يزال ابرز الخانات الصامدة منذ نحو ثمانية قرون اي منذ العهد الصليبي، حيث توالت عملية بنائه خلال ثلاثة عهود وحمل نحو عشرة أسماء عبر التاريخ وذلك وفق المهمات او الوظائف "الرسمية" او الخاصة التي كان يتولاها عبر هذه القرون الثمانية قبل ان يستقر على "العسكر".
ويشير المؤرخ عمر تدمري الى ان "خان العسكر كان يعرف بخان الدباغة، والغميضة، والأسرى، وسعيد الجارح، والإفرنج، والحرير والجديد، وهو من جملة أوقاف "خاصكي سلطان" اي زوجة السلطان العثماني سليمان القانوني، وانتقلت ملكيته الى والي طرابلس يوسف باشا سيفا الذي وقفه لمصلحة الانفاق على تكية الدراويش المولوية في طرابلس. وقد حدث زلزال قبل نحو 250 سنة واصبح غير صالح للسكن، وبعد ترميمه صار يعرف بالخان الجديد، وكان معداً لوزن الحرير الذي يُصدّر من طرابلس الى اوروبا، واتخذ به "المنزلجي" مسكنا له، وهو المسؤول عن استقبال كبار الضيوف".
ويلفت الى انه تأسس خلال ثلاث مراحل:
- المرحلة الاولى، الاساسية في الفترة الصليبية، وهذا يبدو جلياً في القسم الشمالي الغربي المطل على شارع الكنائس.
- المرحلة الثانية في العصر المملوكي، ويلاحظ ذلك من خلال معالمه في القسم الجنوبي المطل على زقاق يؤدي الى ساحة الدباغة.
- المرحلة الثالثة بنيت في الفترة العثمانية وهي ظاهرة في الجهة الشرقية عند الباب الرئيسي الذي تعلوه "طرة عثمانية" تؤرخ لتجديد الخان في عهد السلطان عبد الحميد.
ويعتبر "خان العسكر" أكبر خان في لبنان حيث تبلغ مساحته اكثر من خمسة آلاف متر مربع، ويضم 67 غرفة. اشتهر بهذا الاسم منذ ايام "سفربرلك" حين كان الحكام الاتراك يجمعون شبان طرابلس والمدن القريبة، ثم ينقلونهم الى جبهة القتال على تخوم قناة السويس والجزيرة العربية".

ملجأ للنازحين
بقي الخان مقفلاً ومهجوراً خلال ثلاثة عقود، ثم فتح ابوابه للمرة الاولى عام 1948 لاستقبال النازحين الفلسطينيين قبيل توزيعهم على مخيمي نهر البارد والبداوي. ثم أُعيد فتحه عقب حادثة فيضان نهر ابو علي اواخر عام 1955، حيث استقبل عشرات العائلات التي دمّرت منازلها. لكن قسماً من هذه العائلات انتقل في ما بعد الى محلة المنكوبين عند مدخل طرابلس الشمالي، فيما آثرت عائلات الاستقرار في غرف الخان الضيقة التي استقبلت 67 عائلة.
تجدر الاشارة الى ان فيضان النهر، اضافة الى مشروع تقويمه أتى على المباني التراثية وهدم حمام النزهة وجسر اللحامين الحجري الذي يشبه جسور البندقية، والاقبية والمقاهي المشرفة على النهر ومنها مقهى الصيادين ودكاكين اللحامين والمطاعم الشعبية التراثية، فضلاً عن المنازل الملاصقة للنهر وعدداً من الخانات و"قصر البرنس" الشهير الذي جمعت حجارته في القلعة بعد ترقيمها تمهيداً لاعادة بنائه، الا ان معظم هذه الحجارة اختفى او تبعثر.

المرحلة الأولى
منذ اطلاق مشروع الارث الثقافي كانت عملية إخلاء الخان تسير في موازاة المشروع وذلك عبر دراسات واحصاءات ميدانية لسكانه واصحاب المحال الداخلية، علماً انها لم تخل من اعتراض بعض الاهالي واصحاب هذه المحال الذين عهدوا بمنازلهم ومحالهم الى اقربائهم. وعندما حان وقت تمليك المنازل الجديدة الى القاطنين فيه، اعترض بعض الذين غادروه ليؤكدوا أنهم أصحابها، علماً بأنه لا توجد وثيقة رسمية (تمليك، أو إيجار) تثبت على نحو جلي "صاحب" المنزل او المحل، وهي بمثابة "وضع اليد" عليها منذ عقود.
في المرحلة الاولى للاخلاء (38 غرفة وعائلة و30 محلاً في الخان الكبير)، سلّمت مفاتيح الشقق والمحال الجديدة في المبنيين اللذين اقامتهما البلدية في منطقة مجاورة بدل ايجار رمزي جداً واستثمار لمدة ثلاث سنوات، لكن الاهالي احتجوا على هذا العقد "الجائر".
من جهة اخرى، طمأن رئيس البلدية رشيد جمالي الاهالي واصحاب المحال الى انه "لن يخلى احد من مسكنه او محله الجديد الا في حال الاخلال بأحكام العقد اي التأجير او التنازل عنه".
واضاف: "لقد قمنا بحل مشكلة انسانية وكان الرأي بأن نبني لهم شققاً بدل دفع تعويضات لا تفي بشراء منزل او محل".
اما اخلاء الخان الصغير فسيتم خلال ثلاثة اشهر كما وعد جمالي وذلك بعد انشاء المبنى الثالث المخصص لما تبقى من سكانه، على ان تقفل ابوابه تمهيداً لترميمه وتأهيله فندقاً اثرياً.

فندق سياحي
أم متحف شمع؟
تنوعت دراسات الجدوى عن المصير المقترح لخان العسكر، ومن ابرزها الدراسة التي اعدها خريج كلية ادارة الاعمال في جامعة الجنان وسام الاسمر، وتقضي، بأن تحوّل الطبقة العليا متحفاً للشمع.
يضم المتحف الاول في كل غرفة على غرار متحف جبيل شخصيات طرابلسية تاريخية كان لها دورها البارز عبر العصور، مع نبذة عنها تعرّف الزائرين بها.
ويحتوي المتحف الثاني على الحرف الطرابلسية ومنها المبيض، المنجد، الحلاّق، الحائك، المطهّر، عادات الاعراس والمقاهي، ولعبة السيف والترس وما الى ذلك من تقاليد شارفت الاندثار.
وتشير الدراسة الى ان طرابلس تفتقر الى متحف من هذا النوع يمكن ان يجذب اليه السياح، فضلاً عن ابناء المدينة ويؤمن مدخولاً مالياً للبلدية.
واخيراً اكد جمالي ان القرار اتخذ لتحويل الخان فندقاً سياحياً يضم في طبقته العليا 28 غرفة بأثاث تراثي، وفي الطبقة السفلى صالات عرض للمصنوعات الحرفية الطرابلسية ومدرسة لتعليمها، فضلاً عن مكتب لوزارة السياحة وآخر للبلدية. وسيكون الفندق ضمن اطار مشروع الارث الثقافي الذي يموله البنك الدولي

^^ so for what I understand, a new hotel is getting built in the old city, a Museum is being built (I already know), and the residents of the Khans are getting moved out for the restoration of there houses and the khans

مشروع الإرث الثقافي الذي يموّله البنك الدولي والذي يشمل سقف مجرى نهر ابو علي وتحويل الضفة الغربية منه للمشاة؟


Abdalla i told you once about this project long ago !!!!
they are going to cover part of the Abu Ali river and build some sort of tourist facilty over it, and they are going to transform the banks of the part into a Cornich !!!

^^ so for what I understand, a new hotel is getting built in the old city, a Museum is being built (I already know), and the residents of the Khans are getting moved out for the restoration of there houses and the khans

not quite right !!!!
the khan is being evacuated in order to be transformed by the municipality into a hotel (2nd floor) and a venue to sell handmade crafts and such things (1st floor)...
the museum was a proposal suggested by a business management student from the Jinan University to transfrom this khan into a wax museum like the one in byblos, however the mayor rejected his proposal !!!
as for the residents of the khan, most of them have been evacuated and given new houses and workshops in 2 new buildings built by the municipality, the rest of the residents will be evacuated after the 3rd building is finished (in about 3 months)

Courtesy of Mina Online taken in July:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2qx0s90.jpg

Possible Location of Plot, I am not exactly sure where the plot is along the corniche but its in that area:

http://i48.tinypic.com/sc6syu.jpg


Official Location of Plot:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2yukmte.jpg

Seems like theres some works going on near the River (taken 2 weeks ago)

http://i48.tinypic.com/2num7bp.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/2hphd1g.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/2cfxesk.jpg

Abdalla i told you once about this project long ago !!!!
they are going to cover part of the Abu Ali river and build some sort of tourist facilty over it, and they are going to transform the banks of the part into a Cornich !!!

I think its already started (Recent Satellite Imagery) :)

http://i46.tinypic.com/72v9nb.jpg

If anyone has any information about whats being done here or any renders available please post them

^^ I found 2 pictures taken 1 month before the Satellite Imagery

Courtesy of Ghasan Ali

The River is being covered up
http://i46.tinypic.com/119cmd2.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/10ydwsx.jpg

This may be a huge project, and I started asking around about it

(go to the previous page, this post got into the next page)

i'm so happy that we are seeing progress !!! :cheers:
but they really need to fix up the area around it

I don't think covering up a river would be any good :S lol,who would cover up a river? and why ? i heard people were against this project when they first mentioned it around 4 or 5 years ago,i wasn't sure about it , but now and when i just saw these pics,it's just SAD!!!:ohno:

^^ I agree

Renders:

http://i46.tinypic.com/1zobuwk.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2w5is5s.jpg

I have more info that I will post later

News: I requested photos of the project from Taha Naji (from We Love Tripoli (http://www.welovetripoli.com/)) and I have a conformation that photos will be taken Feb 21st of the project so we can see what has been done

TRIPOLI INTERNATIONAL HALF MARATHON :cheers:

http://i49.tinypic.com/2j6215i.jpg

*EVENT DETAILS*

Tripoli Half International Marathon will take place on 11th of April 2010 and is a combination of three different races: 21k, 5k and 2k Children’s Race with a minimum age 6 years old on Race Day.

The Tripoli International Half Marathon course winds through diverse neighborhoods and city highlights throughout Tripoli. The majority of the race is run on paved asphalt and concrete streets.


The Website: http://www.tripolihalfmarathon.org/index.html
The Facebook Event: Tripoli Marathon (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=347333365139&ref=nf)

Abdallah,

You might like this website:
http://www.portdetripoli.com

^^ VERY informative, thanks

I didn't even know the Port of Tripoli was undergoing expansion

Tripoli also contains a Free Zone with an area of 150,000 m2. The Port is currently undergoing expansion projects, where a new 600 m long berth is being built for container trade, with a rear zone area of 1,200,000 m2.

and it seems that the number of ships arriving at the port has not changed drastically in the last few years

News: I requested photos of the project from Taha Naji (from We Love Tripoli (http://www.welovetripoli.com/)) and I have a conformation that photos will be taken Feb 21st of the project so we can see what has been done

Here are the long awaited photos. Courtesy of Taha Najii (Taken Today)

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Riv6.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Riv5.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Riv2n.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Riv1.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Riv2.jpg

possibly more photos to come

^^ still early to judge
they clearly have to do something about the surroundings of the project, cuz it looks horrible !!! and what are those metal poles for ????
also, it looks like street vendors have transformed it into a shoes bazzar :P

^^ still early to judge
they clearly have to do something about the surroundings of the project, cuz it looks horrible !!! and what are those metal poles for ????
also, it looks like street vendors have transformed it into a shoes bazzar :P

Remember the renders

http://i46.tinypic.com/1zobuwk.jpg

I think there using them to make a tent like structure

^^ with a glass ceiling ????
yeah it does look more like small seperate tents with benches beneath them !!!

^^ VERY informative, thanks

I didn't even know the Port of Tripoli was undergoing expansion



and it seems that the number of ships arriving at the port has not changed drastically in the last few years

I think traffic should increase once the expansion is complete. I read a while ago that the existing pier design is bad and doesn't allow efficient loading and unloading of ships, so this probably is discouraging growth.

If the rail connection to Syria ever materializes, this should also help greatly, but I have my doubts that the Syrians will actively support this project. They are currently improving their own ports, specifically Latakia, so they will probably not be willing to have a rail link with Tripoli's port as it would essentially compete with the port in Latakia.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Courtesy of Taha Baba (taken today)

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip1-2.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip2jpg.jpg

^^ I think you should open an official thread for this project!

^^ i think we should wait for more renders before we start a thread !!

^^ We need to collect a bit more information then I will start a thread

Courtesy of Nour Kabbara (taken yesterday)

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip1-3.jpg

Courtesy of Khaled M. (taken yesterday)

http://i45.tinypic.com/jsbzg6.jpg

So people using it already? Sorry,Abdallah,but so far i think this project is a disaster :(

^^ It doesnt look like a well-organized construction site!

^^ no it doesn't, and for some reason the site has been transformed into a shoes bazzar !!!

So people using it already? Sorry,Abdallah,but so far i think this project is a disaster :(

I wouldn't call it a complete disaster because it hasn't even been complete, and all the vendors you see around it will be moved to a different area (that was part of the project)

You can see there are installing little benches on the project (no I dont know the guy in the pic)

Courtesy of Khaled M.

http://i50.tinypic.com/1kk9i.jpg

^^ but that didn't have to be done on top of the River :S they could have done it in a better way,in different area maybe,why covering the river?

^^ the river is a giant dump, theres nothing historical about it, and its only a tiny part of the river, but you do have a point. They could have spent that money cleaning up the river and putting benches etc.. instead of just covering the river up and ignoring the problem

^^ Exactly!!! i mean Tripoli is very unique city,it's an open museum of Islamic architecture,and with so beautiful nature,why destroying it ? that river should be respected.

So this is supposed to be touristic? I don't understand how you can access it tho.... its in between the two roads and there isn't really a walkway to cross the street safely and just chill there..

We still don't know what will be placed on it right? Just tents as far as we know now? Because if anything else is placed, they need to figure out parking near the platform..... What a confusing project lol

Overall though, I like it... So long as they only cover up parts of the river, and the edges that overlook the river are made really fancy it would be a cool project. But... it needs to be cleaned

I dont understand why they dont close off the construction site for safety and efficiency?? People are just hanging out and parking where works are supposed to be taking place.

Because there is no sincere oversight by the government and its contractors. yi3ni bil 3arabi dihik 3l dkoun. It is neglect a la carte. This is what the government of Lebanon has done for the second capital (absolutely nothing). This project is a teaser and in my opinion Tripoli needs 1 Billlion dollar emergency investment immediately to take care of the infrastructure. there are many potentials from tourism to industry to economy but helas no one has seriously taken care of this chronic neglect and I don't even know that they will. I am personally tired of our government and its unfairness in terms of equal development opportunities.

I dont understand why they dont close off the construction site for safety and efficiency?? People are just hanging out and parkijng where works are supposed to be taking place.

This is Lebanon. I don't know why you find this surprising.

A few years ago, they were replacing sewage pipes on a section of a street close to our apartment. During the whole time they working on it, it wasn't closed off. People on motorcycles would drive around the rubble close to the dug out area. Someone could easily fall right into the deep hole they dug or drive their motorcycle into it.

I observed the same thing this last Spring around where they are building the tunnel to replace the Barbir bridge. It's a construction site with much dirt everywhere, but people and their motorcycles are all over the place.

lol does Lebanon even have a OHS policy ?

It seems that they are constructing the new Courniche sidewalks.

Courtesy of Richard Squire (Taken Feb 21st)

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip3jpg.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip.jpg

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip1-5.jpg

nawwwww, It will be even more romantic to walk along that river.

Yes,hopefuly they will clean the river now from the origin to the Med. sea.

I'd really like to see pictures of the river area before the buildings along it were cleared, and the river was channelled in that concrete bed. Apparently the area was subject to flooding, so it was decided to just knock everything down and create the wasteland we see now. Did see a picture once, and my memory of it was that it looked very interesting - as it should be for such a narrow valley cutting through a city, in part under a castle.
To restore some life to the area requires more than just putting in sidewalks, though at least the plan to do something shows recognition of a problem. But I think the area needs an ambitious plan. Perhaps they could call in architects and urban planners work on projects on how to (re)create real life along the river...

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss61/budkheir/Trip1-5.jpg

A better view
Courtesy of costyquelchecosty (taken today)

New Railing is looking good, still more work to be done on the sidewalks

http://i40.tinypic.com/2upr9et.jpg

We can see that the courniche railing has been built all the way up the entire road and there slowly making there way towards the center

http://i43.tinypic.com/o8e4cz.jpg

TRIPOLI INTERNATIONAL HALF MARATHON :cheers:

http://i49.tinypic.com/2j6215i.jpg

*EVENT DETAILS*

Tripoli Half International Marathon will take place on 11th of April 2010 and is a combination of three different races: 21k, 5k and 2k Children’s Race with a minimum age 6 years old on Race Day.

The Tripoli International Half Marathon course winds through diverse neighborhoods and city highlights throughout Tripoli. The majority of the race is run on paved asphalt and concrete streets.


The Website: http://www.tripolihalfmarathon.org/index.html
The Facebook Event: Tripoli Marathon (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=347333365139&ref=nf)

More Info:

The first Tripoli International Marathon registration is now open and available at the following places:
- All Branches of LibanPost
- All Branches of Azm & Saade Association
- Spinneys Tripoli & Saida
- Kasr El Helu - Abdul Rahman Hallab
- Ma'an Lubnan Offices
- Tripoli Youth Forum - 03-900320

^^ an event that took place at the Marathon

Courtesy of Omar EL Sayed

http://i46.tinypic.com/2czbz4o.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/e5r0cx.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/2d002dy.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/1zx2lxs.jpg

AUBMC inks collaboration deal with Tripoli Government Hospital

08 June 2010

BEIRUT: In the furtherance of its academic missions and its vision for institutional expansion, the American University of Beirut’s Medical Center (AUBMC) signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tripoli Government Hospital (TGH).

“Through this collaboration, AUBMC will afford more training opportunities for its medical students and residents-in-training. Furthermore, this collaboration congruently allows AUBMC physicians to transfer their clinical expertise to areas outside of Beirut,” a university statement said.

Similar to the recent agreements organized through the medical dean’s office, the focus of this MOU is both clinical and academic; as AUBMC recruits more residents-in-training, this collaboration will increase their exposure to a diverse patient case-mix and increased patient volumes. This will also allow TGH to gain exposure to AUBMC physicians’ clinical expertise, thus rendering mutual benefit for both parties.

“AUBMC continues to commit to delivering quality and excellence in patient care and to educating the future leaders of medicine. Collaborative and strategic partnerships will continue to pave the way to achieving our vision for excellence in health care, teaching and research.” AUB’s Dean of the medical school Dr. Mohammad Sayegh said.

“In the presence of the Minister of Health, Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh, we are signing this MOU today to embark on this cooperation with AUBMC on several fronts: academic, clinical and technical. This will contribute to further enhancing medical education, clinical research and superior healthcare services that will ultimately benefit the Lebanese community,” said head of TGH’s board of directors Fawaz Hallab said. – The Daily Star

What's new on the corniche works?

^^ No idea :) but Ill be there in a few days, and Ill make sure to takes load of pictures of the project

just found this old pic for city complex,i wish a modern mall is planned for Tripoli.

Courtesy of yas784

July 15,2006

http://1.1.1.5/bmi/farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4650029503_2f507753ac_b.jpg

^^ I did email the Le Mall people a few months ago and they said they did have plans for Tripoli but nothing has actually really been done about it. So let's hope there project actually formalizes and they construct a proper mall in Tripoli

just found this old pic for city complex,i wish a modern mall is planned for Tripoli.

Courtesy of yas784

July 15,2006

http://1.1.1.5/bmi/farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4650029503_2f507753ac_b.jpg


Hassoun, your flikr pics dont appear in the forum for some reason.

Bahia Hariri is in Tripoli to launch the preperations for the "Ramadan Festivals 2010"....
The festival will begin in Mina then Tripoli then Beirut then Saida.....
Unlike the rest of the cities, the venue that will host the festivals in tripoli is still undecided.... some of the potential places are Tell Square, Manar University campus, Burj El-Sabi3 (i dont know what this is..... abdalla ???), Rashid Karami Fair... etc.
Hariri asked the organizers if they could hold the festivals near the center of the city so that visitors can wander down the markets and sit in the street cafes after the shows.... just like in Saida !!! :)

ps: I HATE SHARING !!!! (j/k) :tongue2:

Bahia Hariri is in Tripoli to launch the preperations for the "Ramadan Festivals 2010"....
The festival will begin in Mina then Tripoli then Beirut then Saida.....
Unlike the rest of the cities, the venue that will host the festivals in tripoli is still undecided.... some of the potential places are Tell Square, Manar University campus, Burj El-Sabi3 (i dont know what this is..... abdalla ???), Rashid Karami Fair... etc.
Hariri asked the organizers if they could hold the festivals near the center of the city so that visitors can wander down the markets and sit in the street cafes after the shows.... just like in Saida !!! :)

ps: I HATE SHARING !!!! (j/k) :tongue2:

^^ oh yeah and also she mentioned that as soon as the the "Ramadan Festivals 2010" end preparations for the "Christmas Festivals 2010" will begin immediately...... :D

^^ Bourj Al Saba3 is a giant sqaure fort near the train station (which is next to the port) most people dont know about it because its hidden behind giant trees.

On another note: I close up pictures of the new BAU campus under U/C behind the stadium and the other university (forget what its called) under U/C near the highway

I have never seen this in person, but I found some pics and a video:

ULKDAwtkkeM

All photos are by Cyril Douval

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/43907/2168962180106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2168962180106570151qNzOXJ)

http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/23562/2297048440106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2297048440106570151oqVckQ)

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/38909/2144921060106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2144921060106570151TZcZCN)

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/34354/2281454430106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2281454430106570151vsStsG)

http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/34354/2281454430106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2281454430106570151vsStsG)

http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/5207/2993887670106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2993887670106570151OqttDy)

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/21623/2840528550106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2840528550106570151ytwfVJ)

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/46714/2954009450106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2954009450106570151VYUdMC)

http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/46505/2661602030106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2661602030106570151EEIJev)

http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/23249/2723931900106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2723931900106570151GogcBg)

http://inlinethumb60.webshots.com/38267/2199455890106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2199455890106570151ptmFuB)

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/46572/2577413750106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2577413750106570151AMuefi)

http://inlinethumb40.webshots.com/46247/2451884030106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2451884030106570151kOpWue)

http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/47139/2944024390106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2944024390106570151HKzVcO)

http://inlinethumb06.webshots.com/45189/2449319060106570151S600x600Q85.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2449319060106570151uvsJOV)

Its sad to see such a great place go to waste !

Its sad to see such a great place go to waste !

I was about to say the exact same thing..They need to restore it...imagine with all the pools of water etc..So unique!!!!!!!!!!

The new machine at the Port of Tripoli "brought in from China" (according to local fishermen) Its supposed to pump sand from the bottom of the sea and dump it on shore to increase the depth of the surrounding area so that larger sized ships will be able to dock at the Port. Its part of the expansion works planed for the Port of Tripoli

Courtesy of Me

http://i31.tinypic.com/2i07p5s.jpg

^^ I went back yesterday and got a better shot of the machine

http://i27.tinypic.com/2urbcqf.jpg

I bet Saida doesn't have one of these ;)

hahahaha that wouldn't even fit in saida's port :lol:...... i have to admit.... it's impressive !!!

eh bas we will see who will be laughing when saida's super awesome port will be constructed.... we will kick your ass once again !!!!! :D :D :D :gunz:

lol Saida VS Tripoli

Attiyah opens QAPCO’s logistic service in Tripoli

http://i38.tinypic.com/au8cw6.jpg

Qatar’s deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah inaugurated on Thursday QAPCO’s logistic Services Establishment in the Tripoli Free zone.

Minister of Public Works and Transport Ghazi Aridi, Tripoli deputies and senior officials also attended the opening ceremony.

QAPCO’s general manager Mohammad Youssif said the facility is very important for both Lebanon and Tripoli.

The facility will provide QAPCO’s products to the entire Lebanese market and once Tripoli ports expand in the future the firm will double its exports to the market.

The products include ethane gas and natural liquid gas.

The company exports nearly 20,000 tons of ethane gas and other chemical products to Lebanon each year.

Officials said that the new facility will also export the company’s products to other countries in the region.

Attiyah expressed his admiration of the facility and said the opening was due to the strong political and economic ties between Qatar and Lebanon.

QAPCO was established in 1974 as a joint multinational venture to utilize the associated and non-associated ethane gas from petroleum production in line with the industrialization plan of Qatar.It is one of the companies located in the Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC), producing fertilizers, steel, refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids.

The new QAPCO plant is situated on the seacoast and exports its entire range of products worldwide.

QAPCO commenced commercial production in 1981 and within a short time, was well-established in the global market due to its quality and reliability.

The main products of the company are Ethylene and LDPE. Solid sulphur is generated as a by-product in the process. The required feedstock, ethane gas, is supplied by the state-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) for the production of ethylene, a significant part of which is then used in the production of various grades of LDPE, marketed under the ‘LOTRENE’ brand name.

The manufacturing facilities consist of an ethylene plant with a designed annual capacity of 720,000 metric tons, two LDPE plants with a total annual capacity of 360,000 MT and a sulphur plant with an annual rated capacity of 70,000 MT besides the self-sufficient utilities, plants and other offsite and auxiliary facilities. – The Daily Star

bottom paragraph is their facilities in Qatar not the planned

Charity NGO opens restaurant to feed the poor during Ramadan:)
By Antoine Amrieh

Thursday, August 12, 2010



TRIPOLI: The non-governmental organization (NGO) Zakat House Lebanon launched its Ramadan charity restaurant and detailed its annual activities, during a celebration held in Tripoli on Wednesday.

The NGO opened the restaurant for the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month in Islam, dedicated for fasting, prayer and charity.

Present for the ceremony were an array of national and local figures who received a tour of the restaurant. Guests included Tripoli Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar and head of Zakat House Lebanon Mohammad Halwani.

Halwani presented the NGO’s activities for this year and said the Ramadan charity restaurant will offer 7,000 portions of dry food and 800 readymade meals to families in need as well as prisoners.

“It will offer the suhour meal to 600 families and the kaffarah meal to 500 families, in addition to clothing for 6,000 orphans and poor people,” Halwani added.

Halwani then thanked Al-Azm Wa al-Saada Foundation, the Safadi Foundation and the Tripoli municipality for their support in the project.

Tripoli Mayor Nader al-Ghazal confirmed his city’s support for Zakat House Lebanon, and said: “We are always with you in serving the people and we will offer what you need to pursue your humane mission.”

Shaar praised the idea of opening the restaurant and stressed the need for NGOs to cooperate in spreading their message. “Cooperation in various fields is the main key to success,” he said. – Antoine Amrieh

_________________________________________________________

What's new on the corniche works?

Yeah, It kinda sucks :(

http://i51.tinypic.com/51uauo.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2n23d42.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2r6nywi.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2v8696o.jpg

It made the place look worse than before IMO. Why wouldn't they plant it or put pots or something.

Doesn't help its littered with garbage either...

They have covered the river to come up with this? :ohno:

Courtesy of Taha Baba
taken today

http://i52.tinypic.com/bfgz1h.jpg

Courtesy of Ymn Merhebi
taken 2 days ago

http://i53.tinypic.com/11r3vk9.jpg

The most recent pic is better.. but what exactly is under these tents? And how come there are no pots (I realize its winter now, but the pots to be present for planting next spring) or trees on the other side.. and no bike lanes

^^ I honestly dont know whats supposed to go under the tents, but I'll hopefully find out :)

and in other news..

New maritime link between Turkey, Lebanon

BEIRUT: Tripoli celebrated the opening of the first maritime line between Lebanon and Turkish Marcine upon the arrival of the Azura cruise ship to the port Tuesday. The ship, which offers a variety of amenities such as bedrooms, saloons, cafeterias and entertainment rooms, will be providing Lebanese and Turkish tourists with transportation between the two countries on a weekly basis. President of the company responsible of managing the project Ghassan Bakri said that the initiative contributes in strengthening the tourism activity between the two countries. For his part, Toufic Dabousi, who was representing the Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture of Tripoli and North Lebanon, expressed his hope for other ships to join this new project in the near future. – The Daily Star

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=122789#ixzz18sfL1ui6
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Inauguration of Tripoli's Justice Palace set for 2011
By Antoine Amrieh
Daily Star correspondent
Monday, December 27, 2010


TRIPOLI: After years of construction works and delays, Tripoli’s Justice Palace is set to be inaugurated in the course of the next year.

The construction, which started in 2003 in collaboration with the Public Works Ministry, is reported to be in its final stages, said a local municipal source.

The project which reached its second and final phase of the construction is currently administered by the Jihad Construction Company (JCC), which has vowed to ready the Justice Palace and the nearby building housing the North Lebanon Bar Association (NLBA) before the end of 2011.

The LL 21 billion project is made up of three stories, underground parking spaces, a private parking lot for judges and lawyers and another lot for clients visiting the facilities. While the underground floors would be dedicated to the parking lots, the fourth and fifth floors of the Justice Palace would accommodate modern courtrooms. The northern coastal city’s Justice Palace will provide judges with their private offices, as well as private entrances to the courtrooms.

In 2004, the southern city of Sidon established its own Justice Palace after a government bill was ratified in late 1999 which made the city a second justice hub after Beirut and Baabda.

Although a bill for the construction of a Justice Palace in Tripoli was passed in 2003 under the supervision of Justice Minister Samir Jisr and Public Works Minister Najib Mikati, both of who hail from the coastal city, works have been greatly delayed.

A source close to the project has ruled out political hurdles in causing delays and failures in the past years; but has charged “lack of funds” as a major reason behind the delay.

NLBA head Bassam al-Dayyeh commended the work of Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi, “we thank the minister for his continuous follow up on the constructions, not only on for the Justice Palace but of the development of the entire North Lebanon.”

According to JCC’s executive director Mohammad Barbar, the facilities include the construction of a Justice Palace and another building to host the NLBA. “The total area consists of 45 thousand square meters,” he said. The engineer explained that both buildings will consist of five floors and several assembly halls.

Barbar also mentioned that the efforts of Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi to incorporate the funds allotted to the project in the state budgets for 2009 and 2010 boosted construction works. “All procedures have now been finalized to provide Tripoli with its Justice Palace,” he added.


_______________________--
Congrats!

Belle Vista Compound
Under U/C
Announced November 2010
Contractors: Tom Construction Company & STC Construction Group
LOCATION: (5min south of Tripoli)
http://i54.tinypic.com/34rsi6q.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2lo25cl.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/jifbzm.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/11k82aa.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/2n8oqvm.jpg

New signs erected in Tripoli for the tourists

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_3RP-177t7Q/TVP_pOGb0DI/AAAAAAAAAJY/PauH6udurhY/s1600/tripoli+signs.JPG

Courtesy of lost

Free economic zone aims to boost Tripoli's role: Hariri
By The Daily Star

Saturday, April 02, 2011

BEIRUT: Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Friday the establishment of a free economic zone in Tripoli was part of a comprehensive developmental plan to boost the economic role of the capital of north Lebanon. Hariri was speaking before lawmakers and municipal officials of north Lebanon, who visited his residence in downtown Beirut. He said the conclusion of the first phase of a study to establish Tripoli’s free zone would be followed by the announcement of the comprehensive developmental plan. The plan would allow Tripoli to benefit from the free trade agreements between Lebanon on the one hand and Syria, Jordan and Turkey on the other, Hariri said. He added that the plan would also include the expansion of Tripoli’s port, the construction of new highways and the establishment of a rail road to link the city to the Syrian border. The private sector is also expected to effectively participate in the developmental strategy to promote social and economic prosperity. – The Daily Star

Mikati unveils new plan to develop Tripoli


BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and Tripoli’s MPs unveiled an ambitious plan to develop the city, reduce unemployment and combat poverty Wednesday.

According to a report prepared by consultancy firm SCAS, the number of unemployed people in Tripoli has reached 15,000 and noted that this figure is expected to increase in the coming few years if no action is taken.

The report added that the high unemployment rate coincides with a population growth, which could exacerbate the problem.

It underlined the need to create 30,000 jobs from now until 2020.

Future MP Samir al-Jisser said the problems facing Tripoli are great but solutions are possible.

“Fixing this problem requires important decisions from the political class, powerful economic centers, trade unions, intellectuals and municipalities,” Jisser said.

He emphasized that all these projects need financing from both the state and the private sector.

MP Robert Fadel gave a presentation about the numerous problems facing the city, noting that Tripoli has become one of the poorest cities in the Mediterranean and definitely the most impoverished in Lebanon.

Citing some examples, Fadel said that 18 percent of the families in Tripoli survive on less than $2 a day compared to 11 percent in the Bekaa Valley, 10 percent in the south and 4 percent in Mount Lebanon.

He feared that unemployment in Tripoli will reach 37,000 by 2020.

“School dropouts in Tripoli have risen by 100 percent over the last 10 years and this indicates that many of the youths have no future and for this reason I say that the city has become a social time bomb,” Fadel said.

A recent report by the United Nations Development Program said that 35 percent of poverty in Lebanon is in the north and most particularly Tripoli.

It also warned of grave consequences if the government failed to take immediate action to address the problems of poverty and unemployment in the north.

“We must admit that we cannot solve the problems through the traditional policies and the central point which we should focus on is creating more jobs,” Fadel said.

He said there the creation of a free economic zone should be accelerated.

The government has completed the first phase of the project, which is expected to create from 5,000 to 10,000 jobs.

Fadel also called for the creation of a Lebanese-international fund which would focus on helping small- and medium-sized businesses.

The study, presented by Fadel, said officials and the private sector should encourage tourism in Tripoli and this will create thousands of jobs.


DAILYSTAR.

Tripoli’s train station opens its doors for 100th anniversary

June 28, 2011 02:25 AM
By Antoine Amrieh
The Daily Star

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/dailystar/Pictures/2011/06/28/3-tripoli-station_634448229950911647_main.jpg


TRIPOLI, Lebanon: To mark its 100th anniversary, the Tripoli Railway Station opened its doors to the public over the weekend for the first time since 1975.

The event, which was organized by Friends of Tripoli Railway Station in collaboration with Al-Mina Municipality and the Railway Administration in the Ministry of Transport, was aimed at introducing visitors to the station and increasing the public’s awareness of its important heritage and history.

The head of the organization, Elias Khlat, said the event was a way to “open the door for people to get to know the station and strengthen relationships among those who wish to support the activities of Friends of Tripoli Railway Station through various forms of communication such as Facebook, Twitter, and the organization’s website.”

According to Khlat, the organization began its efforts to preserve the station in the northern coastal city three years ago. “We ask that any project to rehabilitate it [the station] preserve its architectural style, which is a French-style dating back to the 19th century,” Khlat said.

Khlat does not hide his concern for the aging equipment in the station, which includes important historic trains. According to him, the station has eight German trains dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Two of these are G7 model trains and were built in 1895, and four of them are G8 models dating back to 1901 and 1906. “The likes [of these trains] are being exhibited in museums, while here they are being eaten by rust and neglect,” Khlat said.

That’s why, he says, Friends of Tripoli Railway Station is campaigning to turn the station into a historical monument and wish to renovate it while preserving its heritage, including the Lions Tower, which was a workshop in the station.

“Unfortunately we lost the station’s clock which was especially built for it by Paul Garnier in 1906,” Khlat said. “We want a complete comeback for the station in a way that preserves its heritage and returns it to the map of transportation, as it used to employ over 350 employees.”

The two-day event at the station included a free guided tour led by volunteers and an open-air concert which included performances by bands from Beirut and Tripoli.

Activists and volunteers who were part of the campaign gathered around the station’s entrance to receive visitors who came from across the country, and distribute information leaflets.

Volunteers accompanied visitors on a tour of the station, offering information on the station’s history, while children were busy drawing trains, real and imaginary, in an area set aside for them.

Tripoli: Lebanon’s city of lost opportunities
By Brooke Anderson

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: With hundreds of old monuments, a historic port and railroad, a large fairground and a resilient people, Tripoli should be a bustling center of trade and tourism.

Instead, the pride of the city, the St. Gilles castle, is now occupied by soldiers keeping watch over the neighborhoods of Bab Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen which were the scene of deadly clashes last month between the city’s two sects of Alawites and Sunnis.

Lebanon’s second largest city, which always seems to be on the verge of turning a corner, has been routinely hit by setbacks over the past several years, including lack of funding for post-war reconstruction (state compensation to the displaced of the Tripoli district was 50 percent less than that given to other areas), the 2007 war at Nahr al-Bared camp 16 km away, and now unrest in nearby Syria, contributing to sectarian tensions between the most impoverished communities.

“For years, Tripoli has been seen as a place of fanatics and extremists. But we’re good people,” says Sultan al-Halabi Harba, manager of the Quality Inn in Tripoli, the city’s only high-end hotel, which is currently at 35 percent occupancy, well below the 80 percent that he would expect for July.

At the same time, the Chamber of Commerce hasn’t had a president in two years, following the murder of chief Abdullah Ghandour in August 2009.

And the city’s sprawling international fairgrounds, about 10,000 meters of which are not in use, have not had a chairman in six years.

Over the past five years, at least a dozen factories have closed, including one of the biggest manufacturers of pipes in the region, due to the high costs of fuel and electricity.

Between 1996 and 2004, factory jobs dropped from 3,000 workers to 300 in the Tripoli area. Today, the city’s poverty rate stands at 35 percent, mainly concentrated in the Bab Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods, and well above the national average of around 28 percent.

With the recurring bad news comes a loss of confidence in the area, from both residents and non-residents, further adding to the city’s woes.

In fact, Harba, who returned to Lebanon from his studies in California in 1981, says that for the past several years the hotel hasn’t been breaking even, but he keeps it open with the hope that the situation in Tripoli will improve. If that day comes, he says he plans on completely renovating the hotel and also opening a boutique hotel near the clock tower in the city center.

“Tourism is the simplest thing that can be done in Tripoli. We should be on the map because there are so many things to see here. But the Ministry of Tourism hasn’t included the city in any of their advertisements,” says Taha Naji, who started the Facebook group “We Love Tripoli” four years ago, with the aim of engaging locals, as well as those outside the city, in civic activities, such as volunteerism.

The group regularly hosts weekend photo-shooting excursions, where members meet to take pictures of the city’s hidden treasures and then post them online, which have encouraged more people to join.

Still, he acknowledges that three of the group’s administrators live abroad because of work, while Naji, who works in IT, splits his time between Tripoli and the UAE, because of a lack of opportunity in his hometown.

Meanwhile, Harba says he’s working to diversify his investments through Tajer, a construction, hospitality and transportation company – all sectors that have been suffering under the current unrest – where he is CEO.

“Business is tough. So many times I feel bad that I invested so much here,” he says.

Still, he insists that he won’t give up, because Tripoli is his home, and he believes it has the potential to change.

Oussama Ziade, who returned to Lebanon in 2006, having spent more than 20 years in the United States working in software and business architecture, is now running a business in the same sectors out of his office in Tripoli, where he has 20 employees.

Back in his hometown, Ziade struggles to find good employees who are willing to stay in the area.

“Unfortunately, talented people aren’t motivated to stay here. They’re trained to think they need to leave – either go to Dubai or even Beirut,” he says. “They think: I’ve got to get out to be successful. That’s what their friends do.”

Ziade adds, “Every day, as soon as they step out of the office, they face pressure from friends and family. And the first time that happens, they crack.”

He also has to contend with an environment where success stories are few, and many people have become conditioned to disappointment.

He recalls, “When I started, people bet that I wouldn’t be successful. Instead of encouraging me, it’s like people were betting on me giving up … If society’s not supporting the push, then what’s going to happen? People are going to leave.”

While Ziade acknowledges that his business, where he has so far invested $5 million, is a struggle, he says he’s never considered giving up.

But Ziade and Harba are exceptions, and it will likely take more than an attachment to their city to keep Tripoli residents at home.

And it will take more than the private sector to turn things around, say residents, who think the government should be doing more to help their city.

“There’s this feeling here in Tripoli that we’re left out. Maybe that will change now that we have five ministers and a prime minister from here,” says Naji. “We need to put pressure on them.”

Sara Ayoubi, a 23-year-old master’s student in computer science doesn’t expect things to change anytime soon, and she’s already decided that she’ll move to the capital city to seek work upon graduation.

“This is where I was born. If I could stay, I would,” she says.

“But things are going backward here. I’d like to see Tripoli get better, but I don’t see that happening.”

But some residents are more optimistic, despite the odds they are facing.

Ozo Najjar, a freelance software developer who works and lives in Tripoli, where he is active in civil society, is adamant that he will remain in the city, regardless of its problems.

“When you see something wrong with something you love, and you see that it can be fixed, and that it can be great, you do whatever you can to change it.”


Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2011/Jul-18/Tripoli-Lebanons-city-of-lost-opportunities.ashx#ixzz1SSFFMMkN
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Coping with poverty and hardship in Tripoli July 19, 2011 01:23 AM (Last updated: July 19, 2011 09:51 AM) By Tamara Qiblawi The Daily Star
Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series on the social and economic conditions in Tripoli.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Mohammad Debban kneels in the shade cast by a half-built boat in the fishing port of Mina in Tripoli. He pulls out a brush from a bucket of paint and gently applies white acrylic to the hull.

This is his job for three months of the year – the summer season is when the sea is the calmest for small fishing boats to sail out on, and it is when Lebanese families throng to seaside restaurants to get a whiff of sea spray while feasting on the sea’s bounty. In short, it is when fishing in Lebanon’s seaside towns enters full swing.

During the remaining 9 months of the year, Debban stays at home, fretting over ways to provide for his kids.

“All I hope for is a fixed job. But look at the port. Fishing is dead,” he says.

Tripoli’s ailing landscape is a lot like its economy. It is a concoction of three cities – Tripoli, Beddawi and Mina – and of various economic sectors – industry, tourism, fishing, vegetable trade, transport and more – all inhabiting vestiges of a once thriving economy.

Once considered the capital of Northern Lebanon and a hub of Levantine transport, poverty rates are higher in Tripoli than they are in any other Lebanese city. Thirty percent of Tripoli’s residents live below the poverty line and according to a 2004 government-funded study, 5 percent of residents are considered to be “severely impoverished.”

Since the early 1980s most of Tripoli’s large factories

have closed, so an industry that once boasted 3,000 workers now only has 300. Between 1996 and 2004, the report observed a “large decline” in the vast majority of Tripoli’s economic functions.

Those issues have led to a myriad of social problems. The Arab Urban Development Institute recorded 700 cases of drug abuse among the youth in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area alone in 2010. Bab al-Tabbaneh is a fault line of political fighting that transpired between some of the city’s Alawites and Sunnis last month, and is the poorest neighborhood in all of Lebanon.

Many of the Tripoli natives The Daily Star has spoken to reported that marriage rates have dropped, because the costs of setting up a home is no longer a viable option to most of the city’s downtrodden youth. Mostly they sit at home, or loiter in the streets, biding their time until an opportunity turns up.

Debban motions to the cluster of fishing boats gathered in the marina. They are shades of pink, blue and yellow, standing still if not for the rocking back and forth on medium sized waves lapping against the dock. The city’s minarets peek out from behind the garden that hugs the outer part of the port.

The boatmen had been ordered by local authorities to stay at bay because of “rough seas.” The fishermen take this time to gut and scale their catch at the dock. They are diligent. It is roughly four hours after the fishermen first mounted their boats that morning and not a peep can be heard.

That is until a screaming match erupts between some fishermen and a tourist guide on a Felucca docked near the center of the port. “Tripoli is in such a state because its people are thieves!” tourist guide and owner of the Felucca, Salem Sadeq, exclaims.

“Speak for yourself! It’s the parliamentarians that are corrupt, not the people,” says Mohammad the fisherman as he launches onto the boat, wagging a finger at Sadeq.

Six sailors have mounted the boat to argue about the reasons for Tripoli’s dire straits. This devolves into a series of blanket statements about sectarianism. “No one cares about the Sunnis,” says one.

Another man presentexclaims, “The Muslims don’t know how to take care of themselves.”

But soon the argument settles on a sentiment they can all agree on: Tripoli’s political representatives have let them down, producing a colorful list of economic promises during election season, and virtually vanishing from their Tripoli offices after they have been elected.

This is an argument that the report on Tripoli’s economic development agrees with. Seeking to dig out the historical roots of Tripoli’s problems, the report traces the city’s economic disenfranchisement to the early days of the Civil War. After Zghorta and Tripoli signed a peace in 1976, one year after the war’s eruption, Tripoli was no longer of any real concern to the country’s main political players, leaving the city to socioeconomic decay.

The authorities are much easier on the fishermen in other Northern seaside towns, the fishermen report. Regulations are less constricting there and the fishermen subsequently are much more prosperous.

“I wanted to invest in a much better boat than this,” said Sadeq.

“But the authorities keep playing around with us. They are so erratic, and unfair, that it’s just not worth it.”

The fishermen disembark from the boat, and charge toward the port’s police station to complain about a rule that has recently been imposed on them. Boatmen in Mina must now obtain licenses in order to sail, something that would cost them hundreds of dollars and 15 days off of their work which they would spend receiving training in Batroun.

Mina is the only port where the rule has been enforced. The police chief at the station confirms this.

Unfortunately, the police are not responsible for enacting the rule, and with a wave of a hand from the police chief, the fishermen leave the station and return back to their boats.

In many ways, fishing is the heart of Mina’s economy. With Tripoli’s inner-city dwellers having become accustomed to shopping at supermarkets, it is mostly the fishermen’s families’ who meander the winding alleys of Mina’s old market.

“When there’s a good catch, then we’re happy,” says one man tending to his vegetable produce.

Further along the coast of the city is Khan al-Tamathili, a landmark on Mina’s tourist map because it is a 700-year old Mumluk inn.

Now the earthy tones of the Khan’s arches are draped with colorful laundry, which the Khan’s inhabitants – some 45 fishing families jammed into around 50 five by seven meter rooms – have left out to dry.

The courtyard is sprinkled with garbage, which the children skip over on their way to the old well, where they wrestle with tangled pipes in order to pump water out.

Just as the Khan speaks of a city that was once a place where weary travelers on horseback converged, the Tripoli train station, some 3 kilometers north of the Mina, is a living testament to the city’s strategic location. It is the closest major city to the Syrian border.

The train station first opened its doors in 1889, and later was shut down by the Civil War’s outbreak in 1975. It ran trains between Lebanon and Syria where it connected to a train network constructed by the Ottoman empire and the Allies who usurped them.

Eight German trains stand still in their tracks there and the government continues to employ several station employees, left overs from days when the train station was still active.

“I don’t know what they’re still doing here,” Mohammad Hassan al-Turk, owner of still-running train station cafeteria, says of the employees.“Probably waiting for the train to arrive.”

In the Bab al-Tabbaneh area, the Abu Ali river cuts through an impoverished neighborhood. Water is gushing down the mountain, running straight toward the sea.

In a country where water-shortages are rampant during the warm months, this is a very sorry sight.

A vast crusader castle overlooks the clusters of Ottoman-style houses, inhabited by some of the country’s poorest families.

Underneath the castle, the famous Bab al-Tabbaneh market lines the street. It was once considered the “gate of gold.” It sold vegetable produce and manufactured goods from the region’s once thriving farming and industry sector to the country’s bargain-hunters at unbeatable prices.

The Civil War gave it a harsh beating, never again to be repaired. Repeated violence in the area only added salt to its wounds.

A listless Abdel Majid lights up a cigarette while workers are carting eggplants over.

“This market is dead. Not sick, not in urgent care – Dead.”

Tripoli's Idle arches


By Deen Sharp on February 03, 2010

The Chinese government may soon give Tripoli's famous exhibition center a much needed face lift

An acoustically engineered amphitheater stands derelict beside the old main entrance. To the left a bold concrete arch leads to an open air auditorium, also in disrepair

The Rachid Karami International Fair stands tall in the heart of Tripoli, Lebanon, and should be an iconic symbol for this aspiring city. Yet very few people seem to know much about this architectural masterpiece, designed by the world famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.

The fair was part of an ambitious plan to modernize Lebanon at large, to focus on the areas outside of Beirut in the 1960s. The master planners nearly achieved their ambition but were foiled by the Lebanese Civil War. Fifty years later, the fair stands as a poignant reminder of what could have been and how stagnant the modernization process of Lebanon remains, with its dilapidated concrete structures holding firm but desperately in need of investment.

Brazilian curves in Tripoli

Oscar Niemeyer, who turned 102 last year, is renowned for his work in his home country Brazil and its capital city, Brasilia. Niemeyer was appointed the master architect for Brasilia — a city built from scratch in the 1950s. The architecture he created was exquisite and won accolades around the world. Dubbed the “King of Curves” for his famous domes, curves and arches, Niemeyer said his distinct style was inspired by “the body of the Brazilian woman.”

President Fouad Chehab commissioned a report from the Institut de Recherche et de Formation en Vue du Developpement (IRFED) in 1961 to appraise Lebanon’s human, economic and social needs. The report highlighted the need to create an economic center away from Beirut, which was sucking up most of Lebanon’s available capital and creating large income disparities with the rest of the country.

Following the IRFED report, the idea arose for the Rachid Karami International Fair, to turn Tripoli into a more desirable place to live.

Tripoli's Idle arches

“The upgrading project will provide Tripoli with a trendy area filled with housing, commerce, sports, recreation and tourism,” states the profile of the project on Neimeyer’s website. “The International Fair of Lebanon is to be the central attraction in Tripoli: a center of culture, art and recreation; of major importance in its theaters, museums, local sports and entertainment.”

The project was commissioned in 1963 and work gradually commenced, but just shy of its completion in 1975, work halted with the onset of the civil war. A dilapidated structure is largely what remains today but one that still maintains a high potential for renovation.

The buildings of the International Fair are listed on the World Monument Fund Watch List. Although sections of the fair were reopened in 1995 and exhibitions are held in parts of the grounds, the vast majority of the structures have been neglected.

Since 1994 there have been various proposals to redevelop this massive site, many of which have fallen through, overcome by the fair’s expansive 1 million square meter grounds.

“There are a total of 20,000 square meters for exhibitions, of which only half are currently used,” said Antonie Abou Rida, director general of the Rachid Karami International Fair. “Further to this, there is another potential area of 40,000 square meters that could be used as exhibition space if redeveloped.”

Chinese investment

One investor interested in the International Fair is the Chinese government-owned firm Chinamex, which offers Chinese companies a platform to sell goods to retailers and suppliers.

Lebanese industrialist Jacque Sarraf, chairman of the multifaceted Malia Group, is leading the ambitious joint project with Chinamex to redevelop the International Fair. They have already set up successful hubs around the world in Atlanta, Dubai, Amsterdam and Manchester.

“This is part of a global plan for Chinamex, they need somewhere in the Levant — everywhere else is covered,” said Abou Rida.

Both the Lebanese and the Chinese stress they are keen to protect the architectural heritage of the site. “The design has to be approved by the government and nothing will be changed,” Sarraf said. “No new construction will be added.”

Rusting iron steps lead up to a concrete viewing platform overlooking the 1 million square meter site

The scale of the project is such that two phases have been laid out. “The first phase plans to bring 1,200 Chinese companies [in] and then the second phase will bring that number up to 3,000,” Sarraf told Executive. The total cost of both phases will be some $29 million. If this project goes through, Tripoli could see dramatic changes as, according to Abou Rida, the project would bring some 3,600 Chinese to Tripoli with their companies, and would provide some 3,000 jobs for locals.

However, trying to convince the Chinese government that the security conditions are good enough in Lebanon is not easy. The government has already given Chinamex an exemption on work visas and import tax. The project, planned to start in 2005, was first delayed by the 2006 war and then indefinitely after the Nahr el-Bared crisis in 2007.

“This situation was made even worse with the financial crisis. The international market is now not the same as it was in 2005,” Sarraf said. It is evident, however, that the Chinese government remains interested.

“Just last week the ambassador of China came to Tripoli to look at the site and see if the project was possible,” said Abou Rida. But Sarraf is cautious as to the prospects, “We just don’t know if it will go ahead or not.”

The IRFED legacy

The Lebanese government is keen not to give up on the project and appears to realize the continued importance of the IRFED report. Tripoli is desperately in need of major investment. There will be many skeptics regarding whether a Chinese company bringing in a significant number of its own labor is the right way to go about this investment. But the government and the Minister for Economy and Trade Mohammed Safadi, in particular, seem convinced and are actively trying to reactivate the project with the Chinese.

Dust and puddles cover the floor of this striking open air stage area. Only small sections of the grounds are used for exhibitions

“The new government of (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri and (President Michel) Sleiman have a new strategy for foreign investment that should also make it easier for the Chinese to invest, and Safadi will also go to the Shanghai Fair in May,” Sarraf stated.

President Chehab left a lasting legacy that is yet to be completed, with his plans for Lebanon still relevant today. The need to develop an economic center outside Beirut is still as vital in 2010 as it was in 1961, as modernization of the country’s institutions remains as stagnant as ever.

Aridi lauds Tripoli port works progress October 22, 2011 12:56 AM The Daily Star


BEIRUT: Public Works and Transport Ghazi Aridi toured Friday the Tripoli port to inspect ongoing projects and check on the phases that have been implemented by the Chinese company for the construction of wharfs.

“We see a great and remarkable improvement in the work that’s being implemented in the port of Tripoli and we are now in the final phase of the project,” said Aridi. He added that laborers are doing a great job in order to finish the wharfs perfectly.

“The port will attract big companies and things are going perfectly for the time being,” he added. He also assured that the Cabinet had made a decision to allocate money to complete the work at the port.

^^There is new Google Earth Imagery for Tripoli, the progress is clearly visible:

http://i52.tinypic.com/io12tx.jpg

Report on Tripoli's Port for this year

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Tripoli Port set to receive $145 million
in improvements


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/dailystar/Pictures/2012/04/17/64151_mainimg.jpg
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/dailystar/Pictures/2012/04/17/64161_mainimg.jpg

BEIRUT: Tripoli Port, the country’s second-biggest harbor, is set to receive $145 million in upgrades and equipment for the newly completed wharf, according to the port’s authority.The government will draw two tenders from 17 local and international companies on May 9 and 23.

The first tender, estimated at $80 million, would include the upgrade of infrastructure and the establishment of new buildings, while the second bid, estimated at $65 million, would include the purchase of new equipment and the management of operations at the port’s facilities.

The first tender would cover the cost of a new administrative building, a 600-square-meter warehouse area, a fire station, control rooms, a 1,500-cubic-meter water reservoir and pump, and four electrical substations, as well as telecommunications, water and electricity networks.

The tenders follow the completion last February of the second phase of the port’s expansion project.

The European Investment Bank had approved a 45 million euro ($58.6 million) loan to finance the expansion works during the first two stages. The first stage of expansion included the establishment of a new breakwater and expanding the port’s main and secondary breakwaters.

The second phase, which was finalized last February, included the construction of a new 600-meter-long quay and the deepening of the port basin to 15 meters to accommodate larger ships.

The second stage, worth $24 million, was awarded to China Harbor Engineering Company.

According to port officials, the upgrades on the Tripoli Port will help decrease congestion at Beirut Port’s container terminal, which handled more than 1 million containers last year.

The expansion of Tripoli Port is part of the government’s plan to set up a free economic zone in Tripoli in an effort to overcome poverty and create more jobs in the city.

Last week, representatives of maritime shipping and transport agencies suspended a strike at Beirut Port after the port’s authority and Beirut Container Terminal Consortium, a private company managing the container terminal, agreed to upgrade a number of facilities at the port.

The planned upgrades are aimed at facilitating administrative and financial dealings at the Beirut Port.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2012/Apr-17/170429-tripoli-port-set-to-receive-$145-million-in-improvements.ashx#ixzz1sFjwzdVv
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

3tZqHk5F9jg

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http://cdn.archinect.net/images/615x/n3/n3rtfijctzvadvxy.jpg

The new Campus in Tripoli, meant to regroup the eight faculties of the Lebanese University in the North into one site, is probably an example
of extreme requirements and constraints having to be catered for, including the following:
• To design a campus of 18,200 students (which will allow it to absorb six to twelve years’ growth from the present levels, assuming a yearly
growth rate of between 4% and 10%) in a site only 13 ha in size, of which 3 ha are un-developable.
• To provide an environment which is compatible with the level of service of a modern university (number of seats, labs, ratio of circulation,
external works, libraries...).
• To build in an inherent flexibility of construction in matters of phasing of faculties construction and location of faculties within the master plan.
The systematic and rational approach adopted for concept development was found to be the only functional approach to mitigate between
the various constraints. The master plan is built around a unified module unit, used to define all spaces of the Campus.
In addition to the eight existing faculties (Public Health, Sciences, Fine Arts & Architecture, Engineering, Law & Political Sciences, Economics
& Business, Sociology and Literature), two new specializations were introduced (Institute of Technology, Agriculture) reflecting the growing
demand for specialized formation. The master plan includes all necessary supporting functions (library, administrative building, cafeteria, car
park and sports center).
Total land surface area: 130,000 m2
Total built-up area: 200,000 m2
Total project cost: Up to USD 140 million
Services provided: Master plan - programming of student capacity - conceptual and preliminary design - tender documents -
supervision
Completion date: December 2008 - Supervision: ongoing


Status: Under Construction
Location: Tripoli, LB

----------------------------------------------------

does anyone know anything about this?

$200 million project planned for Tripoli
Businessmen to donate profits for development

A major touristic project is being planned for Tripoli. Private sector leaders in the city have already established for this purpose a company, Tripoli Seafront Holding. The company’s main shareholders include MP Robert Fadel, among other key businessmen from Tripoli.

The project will see the construction of commercial and residential buildings along with a number of touristic attractions.

The cost of the project is around $200 million. Investors, companies, and banks will partake in the funding. Architecture work will be undertaken by Dar al-Handasa.

The project will be constructed opposite to the Beirut Arab University in the marina area. “An offshore area of around 1 million square meters will be reclaimed throughout the project,” said Omar Hallab, board member of Tripoli Seafront Holding. The company will also collaborate with the Ministry of Environment in order to preserve maritime wealth and natural undersea environment.

Hallab said 60 percent of the land on which the project will be constructed will be bought from the State. The remaining are is owned by investors. Hallab said profits from the project will be used to finance developmental projects in the city.

The project will be carried out by 30 businessmen and is expected to provide around twelve thousand job opportunities.

Reported by Yassmine Alieh

Finally found out what the capacity of the New Container Port will be..(old article)this is bigger than the official Beirut Capacity (without side piers). Further they are plans to double the length to be equal to Beirut's new expansion. Tripoli seems to have a much bigger Stackable area. WOW any thoughts?

06 Jul 2012 - New tender for Lebanese terminal
2012-07-09
(Source: Press Release / Alphaliner)


06 Jul 2012 - The Lebanese port of Tripoli plans to launch a second attempt to tender the concession for a planned new container terminal. The decision to re-tender was prompted by the disappointing outcome of a first bidding round which yielded only one qualified submission from the UAE-based terminal operator Gulftainer (see related news).

The proposed terminal would provide a 600-metre berth in its initial layout, with provisions to double this berth length to 1,200 metres. The depth alongside wil be 16 metres. Alphaliner estimates the initial capacity of phase I at 0.8 Mteu per year.


Update:
Gulftainer prepares tenders for Lebanon’s container terminal

10 December 2012, 10:04 GMT

Operator aims to open Tripoli port by April 2013

What would a new marina mean for Tripoli?

January 16, 2013 01:11 AM

By Brooke Anderson
The Daily Star


TRIPOLI: Depending on whom you ask, a new waterfront development in Tripoli with high-end restaurants, shops and accommodation will either give a badly needed boost to an impoverished city, or it will further divide an already fragmented society.

“Unfortunately for the past 20 years, there has been no plan for the revival of Tripoli,” MP Robert Fadel, who is facilitating the project, tells The Daily Star. “People are concerned for very good reasons. They haven’t seen anything of this magnitude in 20 years.”

Dubbed by some locals as “Tripoli’s Zaitunay Bay” after the Beirut development near Ain al-Mreisseh, the new project, still in early planning stages and yet to be given an official name, would cover 1 million square meters, the vast majority of which would be landfill, and part of which would be on the seaside promenade, the corniche.

Tripoli Development Holding along with its subsidiary, the Tripoli Seafront Company, were established last year by 14 of the city’s business leaders for the execution of the project, which has raised $1 million in seed funding and needs a total of $300 million. They expect the new marina will boost the local economy by bringing tourists, residents and around 10,000 new jobs to what has essentially become a neglected city.

The government will benefit from at least half of the landfill, which the company plans on developing for state use. This could include infrastructure such as roads, rehabilitation of the corniche, a public garden and a dry dock at the cost of $50 million that could generate over a 100 jobs. A percentage of the generated profits will be divided between the private investors and a reinvestment fund, which would possibly help establish a technological business incubator.

“This is a strategy to work together for the good of Tripoli,” says Samir Chreim, managing partner in Beirut at SCAS, Inc., the financial consulting firm drawing up the plans for the vast new marina on the southern edge of Lebanon’s second city.

“If Tripoli’s image is polished, then people will want to visit,” predicts Chreim, who likens the project to one for which he previously consulted, Jumeirah, the luxury waterfront development in Dubai, which includes the man-made palm tree-shaped islands.

Even at this early stage, some residents have already mobilized against the project, fearing that it will create a cluster of shops and restaurants that locals cannot afford, harm the coastal environment and intrude on space where all classes from the destitute city can take a walk along the waterfront.

“Of course I’m against it. It will change the whole peninsula. People come from poor areas for this million-dollar view,” says Sahar Minkara, an interior designer and cafe owner in Tripoli, who agrees that her city needs to be developed, but worries that this will be at the expense of the environment and regular Tripolitans. She is part of Masha3, a nationwide campaign aimed at reclaiming Lebanon’s public property. They say that lax enforcement of existing laws has led to unchecked development along some of Lebanon’s nicest areas of coastline.

Mira Minkara, Sahar’s cousin and another member of Masha3, wonders if the developers can live up to their high expectations.

“They say they will create more than 10,000 jobs. I don’t know how realistic or how economically sustainable it is,” she says. She thinks that developers should instead revitalize some of the city’s ailing infrastructure, such as the port.

Tripoli resident Jihad Jneid, also a member of the group, says he would support the project if it were not on the sea, which he says is the only place for poor people to get away from their basic, cramped housing. Now, he believes, it will be a place for Tripoli’s wealthy to have an escape from their city’s poverty.

“I don’t think anyone should touch the corniche, even if it improves the face of Tripoli,” says Jneid. “We need empty spaces where people can go for free and have coffee. There isn’t anyone from Tripoli that doesn’t go there.”

After learning about the new waterfront project, the members of Masha3 held a public meeting last month with the Tripoli Holding Group, in which the initial design plans were discussed. The next scheduled meeting is Friday.

Chreim says he is disappointed with the reaction of some activists, and he believes that all of their concerns are addressed in the proposed plan. For example, he says that the area’s flora and fauna have been depleting for years due to longtime neglect of Tripoli’s coastline. They plan on developing a hatchery for flora and fauna.

He also questions the logic of the argument that the project will segregate Tripoli’s social classes, something that he believes is inevitable anywhere.

“There are already different classes in different areas. This happens all over the world. A Burj Hammoud person won’t live in Ashrafieh. It’s the nature of the area,” he says, adding that he doesn’t see a problem with a relatively exclusive area if it results in a greater good for Tripoli’s economy.

Mona Harb disagrees. The urban planning professor at the American University of Beirut says that economic and class diversity is a normal part of a city’s “urban fabric” and such projects are a result of “failed urban policies for decades” in the country’s postwar reconstruction.

“Usually [it’s] when people are busy with politics [that] these projects get done,” she adds. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the decree [to reclaim public land along the coast line] were done during intense conflicts in the area.”

The government has yet to issue such a decree.

Indeed, despite the scale of the project, many people in Tripoli, including those who spend their days on the shore, are still unaware of a new plan for the waterfront. Fishermen along the corniche voiced surprise upon hearing of it.

“This is the first time I hear about it,” says Mohammad Abdallah sitting on his boat, scaling a fish. “I hope it happens so that we can have better work.”

Nearby, Ammer Azzedine, a Syrian who has been selling coffee on the corniche for the past 20 years, says, “They’ve been talking about developing the waterfront for 20 years. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Labib Shalak, a longtime resident and software development CEO based in Tripoli, also says he hasn’t heard of the project, but that he is already skeptical of the plans.

“To help the economy, we need to have production, not services,” he says. “Maybe it would create jobs for a couple of years. But after that, what? It could crash like Dubai.”

Referring to Lebanon’s highly educated workforce which tends to travel abroad for better opportunities, he says, “Human resources are Lebanon’s biggest asset – not hotels.” Although he says he would welcome a new hotel, he doesn’t think it should be a priority.

But some people think that fellow Tripolitans should give the new development a chance – especially given the economic stagnation of their city, ranked among the poorest in the Mediterranean basin.

“I don’t have a stand yet,” says Khaled Merheb, sitting at a cafe in Tripoli with some of his friends who oppose the project. “When I first heard about the project, they said it would damage Tripoli’s environment and it would prevent poor people from coming to the corniche. But the corniche is already filled with litter, and girls can’t walk there alone – so don’t talk about the environment and poor people.”

He thinks his friends should be open to the new project.

“These are wealthy Tripolitans who want to do something good for the city,” he says, calling it hypocrisy that people complain about politicians doing nothing for the city, then try to stop them when they do. “If it’s good for the city, let them make money. But let my city bloom.”

For Mu’taz Salloum the project can’t come fast enough.

“I’m with the project until I find enough proof that it’s not eco-friendly,” says Salloum, a film director from Tripoli, noting that the local municipality already deems the water too polluted for swimming.

“I’m always with any project that brings job opportunities to town. I’m sure if people from Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen were offered jobs, they wouldn’t refuse,” he says, referring to the city’s two most impoverished neighborhoods, the backdrop to sporadic armed clashes.

“I’d support the project if it created a thousand jobs – or even 10 jobs. People are dying and starving in Tripoli.”

Meanwhile, Fadel, who for more than two years has been studying the feasibility and laying the groundwork for the project that he hopes will boost his city’s economy, says he needs the backing of the local residents.

“The project in the end,” he says, “would require the support of the Tripoli community.”

Facts on new marina planned for Tripoli

Size: 1 million square meters

Location: on the southern end of the city, near the stadium

Development cost: $300 million

Seed money raised so far: $1 million

Target audience: Lebanese from the area, expatriates, Gulf residents

Possible attractions: a luxury hotel, shopping, water sports

Architects: Dar al-Handasa, Nazih Taleb

Potential contractors: Mouawad-Edde and Khoury Contracting Co.

Energy minister launches project to build oil storage facility

Energy Minister Gebran Bassil launched a project on Thursday to build an oil storage facility that includes 38 reservoirs in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli.

“The project is to build 38 new reservoirs for all oil derivatives and to build full infrastructure related to the supplying of pipes, pumps, vessels…etc.,” the National News Agency quoted Bassil as saying.

The minister added that “the project is beneficial to Lebanon due to its strategic location on the one hand and to the additional income it provides for oil facilities and the state treasury on the other.”

Bassil also said that the project “provides a strategic stock of stored oil which can allow Lebanon to provide other countries with oil.”

In November, the Lebanese cabinet approved of a committee to oversee oil exploration off the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Energy minister launches project to build oil storage facility

Energy Minister Gebran Bassil launched a project on Thursday to build an oil storage facility that includes 38 reservoirs in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli.

“The project is to build 38 new reservoirs for all oil derivatives and to build full infrastructure related to the supplying of pipes, pumps, vessels…etc.,” the National News Agency quoted Bassil as saying.

The minister added that “the project is beneficial to Lebanon due to its strategic location on the one hand and to the additional income it provides for oil facilities and the state treasury on the other.”

Bassil also said that the project “provides a strategic stock of stored oil which can allow Lebanon to provide other countries with oil.”

In November, the Lebanese cabinet approved of a committee to oversee oil exploration off the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Hope he plans to do it under several metres of concrete. Oil reservoirs are what usually neighbour´s from the south enjoy attacking.