The Port of Beirut signs a partnership agreement with the Port of Marseille

BEIRUT — A partnership agreement was signed Wednesday between the President of the Beirut Port, Omar Itani, and the President of the Grand Port Maritime of Marseille, Hervé Martel, with the aim of "strengthening cooperation between the two ports,” according to a joint statement from the French Embassy in Lebanon, Beirut Port Investment and Management Company and Marseille-Fos Port.

Here’s what we know:

    • The operators of Marseille-Fos Port, the main trade seaport of France, will be able to provide its expertise to its Lebanese counterpart on issues of port governance and internal organization. An exchange of information between the two partners is also planned to help the development of trade. Training could also be provided in the areas of maritime and port security, safety, port information technology and environmental protections.

    • The agreement was signed in the presence of Public Works Minister Ali Hamiyeh and the French Ambassador to Lebanon Anne Grillo.

    • In her speech, Grillo said that this is "another important step in the cooperation between France and Lebanon to make the port of Beirut a central port in the Mediterranean,” adding that “this agreement is also a testimony of our common ambition to make this cooperation a long-term one.”

    • According to the statement, the two Mediterranean ports have had links since the 1990s, and the idea of a strengthened partnership "stems from France's more global support for the reconstruction of Beirut port.” The Aug. 4, 2020 port explosion caused between $3.8 and $4.6 billion in damages to the port and its surrounding areas, according to a study by the World Bank, the UN and the European Union.

    • The statement also stated that "several expertise cooperation missions have been organized between November 2020 and July 2021, including experts from the major French seaports of Le Havre and Marseille.”

    • In February, the French carrier and logistician Maritime Freighting Company and General Maritime Company (known as CMA CGM), won the tender for the management of the container terminal in Beirut. The contract runs for 10 years, during which time the group plans to invest $33 million to "ensure the rehabilitation and modernization of the terminal.” It replaces the operator Beirut Container Terminal Consortium (BCTC), a consortium made up of Portia Ports Limited, International Port Management Beirut SAL and Logistics and Port Management Americas, in place since 2005.