Zaitunay Bay in the Ain al-Mraisseh district in downtown Beirut on July 7, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient-Le Jour)
More than three decades after the reconstruction of downtown Beirut began, the Lebanese government is preparing to reopen one of the most sensitive files of the postwar era.Beyond deciding the future of Solidere’s mandate, the Cabinet must determine on Friday whether to extend the company’s exceptional — and long-contested — legal framework, under which it has grown into one of Lebanon’s most powerful real estate developers, or reassert greater public control over the future development of downtown Beirut.According to information obtained by L’Orient-Le Jour, the ministerial committee tasked with reviewing Solidere’s request will recommend that the Cabinet reject the company’s bid for a 40-year extension. Instead, it will propose negotiating a more limited extension of seven to eight years, renewable only once, subject to performance...
More than three decades after the reconstruction of downtown Beirut began, the Lebanese government is preparing to reopen one of the most sensitive files of the postwar era.Beyond deciding the future of Solidere’s mandate, the Cabinet must determine on Friday whether to extend the company’s exceptional — and long-contested — legal framework, under which it has grown into one of Lebanon’s most powerful real estate developers, or reassert greater public control over the future development of downtown Beirut.According to information obtained by L’Orient-Le Jour, the ministerial committee tasked with reviewing Solidere’s request will recommend that the Cabinet reject the company’s bid for a 40-year extension. Instead, it will propose negotiating a more limited extension of seven to eight years, renewable only once, subject to...
