A study of the Lebanese land transport sector, conducted in the framework of the European Union-funded “Support Programme for Infrastructure Sector Strategies and Alternative Financing (SISSAF),” was presented on 15 January during a workshop organised at the Radisson Blu Martinez Hotel in Beirut.
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), along with the programme’s team led by Mr George Xanthakos, Land Transport Key Expert, presented the Baseline Study following a welcome note by Mr Cyril Dewaleyne, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union, Mr Abdel Hafiz Kaissi, Director General for Land and Maritime Transport at MPWT, and Mr Juan Sanz, SISSAF, Team Leader.
The Baseline Study aims at collecting, analysing and evaluating data in the land transport sector. It focuses on issues such as: road safety, traffic and roads conditions, statistics on road accidents and the importance of eco-friendly projects. The study is expected to serve as a basis for the development of the land transport sector’s national strategy, which is being implemented by MPWT with the assistance of the SISSAF programme.
Mr Kaissi also presented pilot projects planned by the ministry to support public transport development, namely: Railway section Beirut-Tripoli, Touristic Port of Jounieh and Public Transport – Pilot Project of Greater Beirut.
This successful workshop, the first in a series of workshops on the progress of the land transport sector in Lebanon, gathered participants from ministries, municipalities, governorates, agencies, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, l’Agence Française de Développement, the Council for Development and Reconstruction and others.