A long line of vehicles at the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Dec. 9, 2024. (Archive photo: Mohammad Yassin/L’Orient Today)
The president of the Association of Freight Forwarding Companies in Lebanon, Sarkis Atallah, has called on the Lebanese authorities to allow transporters to transfer containers of goods arriving by sea and destined to transit through Syria directly to the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, for unloading on site.
According to Atallah, this measure would help reduce congestion in Lebanese ports, where customs clearance operations are regularly delayed due to technical or equipment problems, even though the country has recently acquired new scanners.
He suggests that containers be sealed upon arrival in Lebanon by customs before being transported to the land border crossing "where they will be unloaded under the supervision of the goods' owner and in accordance with regulations in force," without specifying when the goods would be cleared through customs, but assuring that this solution is compliant.
This solution can be implemented "in accordance with the decision of the General Authority for Borders and Customs of the Syrian Arab Republic, and based on the joint agreement between the Lebanese and Syrian commissions, which provides for the transfer of goods exported from Lebanon from a Lebanese truck to a Syrian truck at the Jdeidet Yabous center, as well as Lebanese Higher Customs Council decision No. 21664/2003 authorizing the transport of goods to neighboring countries in containers," Atallah said.
After a meeting held Monday at Jdeidet Yabous, Lebanese and Syrian officials agreed to extend the reciprocal mechanism established earlier in February for regulating the movement of goods and land transport between the two countries.
Truck traffic between Syria and Lebanon had been suspended for nearly a week at the beginning of February, following a decision by the Syrian General Authority for Border Posts and Customs banning "non-Syrian trucks" from entering Syrian territory by land. After protests by truck drivers and negotiations between the two parties, traffic resumed from Feb. 13, under certain conditions.
Coincidentally, the management of the Port of Beirut has changed the opening hours of the port area to ease traffic, a measure effective as of March 2.
Starting Sunday night to Monday each week, yards and warehouses will be open from midnight to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from midnight to 1 p.m. on Friday. Entrance gate No. 14 will be open every business day from midnight to 6 p.m., in accordance with the new regulations on truck traffic.
The operating hours for administrative and commercial transactions remain those of the port's official schedule, the management specified.
