Port of Beirut
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The Port of Beirut is the main port in Lebanon located in the capital city, Beirut, and is one of the largest ports on the Eastern Mediterranean.
The port is operated and managed by the Gestion et Exploitation du Port de Beyrouth (GEPB), which is French for Port Authority of Beirut.
Since the end of the Lebanese Civil War, the port has gone through a major reconstruction and updating program with the construction of new infrastructure such as the new container terminal and the rehabilitation of various existing infrastructure. It is aiming to attract increased shipping service by marketing its new and updated facilities.
It is very important for transporting goods to Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and the Gulf States.
The Port of Beirut consists of a total area of 1,200,000m2 and has 4 basins, 16 quays, and a new container terminal located besides quay 16 capable of handling 700,000 TEU per year.
The new Free Zone consists of a total area of 11,200m2 and has been extremely successful since its relaunch after the end of the civil war.
The general cargo area consists of 12 warehouses and a grain silo with a capacity of 120,000 tons.
The Port of Beirut has been selected as a transshipment hub for the 2nd and 3rd largest container shipping companies in the world, Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and French-based Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement - Compagnie Générale Maritime (CMA-CGM). The latter is currently in the process of building a $12 million regional headquarters near the port.
The new Beirut Container Terminal, located just off quay 16, is operated by a joint US-British-Lebanese consortium named Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC), which is made up of the US-based International Maritime Associates (IMA), British-based Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), and Lebanese-based International Port Management Beirut (IPMB). It began operations in December 2004.
The container terminal is equipped with 4 quayside container cranes and 8 rubber-tyred gantry cranes.
A 5th quayside container crane and 2 rubber-tyred gantry cranes are scheduled for delivery at the end of the year.
The new quay 16 is the longest and deepest of all the quays at a length of 600m and a depth of 15.5m, which allows it to accommodate the largest container ships in the world.
There are plans to expand the wharf where the new quay 16 is located to increase capacity from the current 700,000 TEU per year due to rapidly rising traffic.
The port lacks a railway connection, however, as part of long term plans to reinstate the railway system in Lebanon, plans are to have a railway link to the port.
The historic first basin of the port will be completely redeveloped by Solidere, the $2 billion Lebanese real estate company that is rebuilding the Beirut Central District (BCD). The redevelopment will involve transforming quays 1 and 2 into a public area along with the construction of a cruise ship terminal and other public facilities.
The port handles approximately 3,000 ships per year.
The Port of Beirut and Rafic Hariri International Airport are the main ports of entry into the country.
Tripoli and Sidon, the 2nd and 3rd largest cities in Lebanon, also have major ports.
