Lebanese President Joseph Aoun arriving at a Cabinet meeting in Baabda, on Aug. 5, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour Archive Photo)
BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun said, while receiving a delegation of heads of municipal federations and mukhtars from the Akkar region at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday, that a tender will soon be launched to operate René Moawad Airport in Qlayaat, according to a statement released by the Lebanese Presidency.
“Akkar is a pillar for the military institution, and its people have always been eager for the state and were never outside it; rather, the state was sometimes absent from the region. Today, it is our duty to give Akkar the necessary attention and carry out the required development projects," the President said.
Aoun also said that a feasibility study tender will be launched for the railway between Tripoli, Abdeh, and Akkar. He added that "General Security centers are ready to operate, and the military hospital and the Lebanese University projects are under study." He also noted that the appointment of boards of directors for both the Tripoli Special Economic Zone, the Port of Tripoli, and the Rachid Karameh International Fair, "will have a positive impact on the northern region in general."
“Our country is like a bird with two wings, Muslim and Christian; if one is broken, it cannot fly again. We have seen that in Lebanon no group has ever truly prevailed over another, nor has any group ever had a lasting advantage over others," the President said. "On the contrary, if the roof of the house falls, it falls on the heads of all the nation’s people ... We must always think that we have always been together in this country and will remain so, and this is our shared responsibility, because we cannot say Lebanon is well if Akkar or any other region is not," he added.
These development plans are seen as an effort to support economic development in the Akkar region, considered the poorest region in Lebanon. In February, the government approved the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's request for the gradual reopening of Qlayaat Airport in North Lebanon for an initial four-year phase.
