Prime Minister Nawaf Salam upon his arrival to Tripoli by helicopter on Tuesday, before heading to the city's government palace. (Photo sent by Michel Hallak)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced Tuesday, during a tour of North Lebanon, the opening of Qleyaat Airport within a year. He also stated that his government's commitment to strengthening security in the north, which has recently experienced several security incidents.
At Qleyaat Airport, Salam said that Transport Minister Fawaz Rasamny – who was participating in this leg of the visit – commissioned the Dar al-Handasa consulting firm to present a preliminary master plan for the airport's reopening. The study is expected to be completed within three months at the most and will be carried out free of charge, he said. Salam added that he chaired a meeting of the High Council for Privatization to accelerate the site's operations.
"We are committed to getting Qleyaat Airport up and running within a year," he said.
Demand for the development and use of this airport in addition to that of Beirut have become increasingly pressing since the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel and incidents in the southern suburbs of Beirut have made the road to Beirut airport, at times, dangerous and impassable.
Wave of refugees in Akkar
Rasamny stated that Dar al-Handasa already visited the site and presented an initial plan for it.
"We will work in parallel not only on the operation of the airfield but also on a development plan for this area. It might be wise to turn it into an airport for the transport of goods given its proximity to the port of Tripoli," he said.
During his tour of Akkar, the prime minister also emphasized his government's interest in the region's development, stating that calls for tenders for projects would follow. He said he had discussed the wave of refugees in the region with local officials, adding that the defense minister was scheduled to travel to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss the matter with Syrian authorities. Akkar has recently seen a new wave of Syrian refugees among the coastal Alawite population, fleeing violence between former members of the Assad regime and new Syrian forces. This region in the far north of Lebanon has suffered years of neglect by the state and is in urgent need of development.
MPs from Tripoli and Akkar welcomed the prime minister's initiative to visit the region on the sidelines of their meetings with him. They stated, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent, that they had high hopes for the rehabilitation of the region's aging infrastructure.
Before heading to Akkar, where he landed by helicopter at President Rene Moawad Airport and was met by the region's governor, Imad Labaki, and members of parliament, Salam began his tour of Tripoli on Tuesday morning.
'Bringing security back' to Tripoli
"Our government is determined to restore security and stability to the city, especially after the difficult period of insecurity it has recently experienced," Salam said from Tripoli. The prime minister, who arrived by helicopter at the city's sports stadium, was met at the headquarters shortly after 10 a.m. by the governor of North Lebanon, Ramzi Nohra, and several local security officials.
Tripoli has been rocked recently by several security incidents, often linked to the upheavals in Syria, which since December has seen a succession of regime changes, unrest on its coast, and clashes between Lebanese clans and the new Syrian army in Hermel. Recently, youths from Bab al-Tabbaneh burst into the city's government hospital on March 21 to protest the alleged presence of an officer from the army of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, prompting an intervention by the Lebanese army.
"We are here to reaffirm the importance of the security of the city and its residents. We are well aware of the suffering endured in recent years due to insecurity, which is why we are working to strengthen coordination between the various security services to ensure lasting stability," said Salam from the Tripoli headquarters. He also expressed the government's determination to penalize offenders, specifying that strengthening security in the country is one of its priorities.
"For the moment, it is important for us to restore trust between citizens and state institutions," he stated.
Regarding security, the prime minister acknowledged that it was mainly the result of the illegal proliferation of weapons, but believed that poor economic conditions and the crisis are contributing to it.
"During an upcoming visit, when we have better prepared our files, we will make announcements regarding development projects for the city that already exist in the ministerial declaration," he said, hoping that economic recovery in the northern capital will be "very soon."
Asked about the role of Tripoli and North Lebanon in the appointments, Salam recommended "waiting for future security and other appointments before putting the government on trial, knowing that North Lebanon will not be forgotten."
Asked about the thorny issue of detainees in Lebanese prisons, mainly Islamists, who have been incarcerated for many years awaiting trial, he promised "courts of justice in the prisons soon to speed up the processing of these cases, to put an end to an injustice that has lasted far too long."