Safadi Orders Rehabilitation of Jounieh Port
Public Works and Transportation Minister Mohammed Safadi on Wednesday gave instructions to rehabilitate the port of Jounieh north of Beirut as the road to Rafik Hariri international airport remained closed.
"Minister Safadi gave instructions to rehabilitate the port of Jounieh, which has been closed for ships since 1996," so that vessels can dock there, a statement issued by the ministry said.
Some private firms are ferrying people out of Lebanon which is reeling from its worst sectarian fighting since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
"We are charging 1,500 dollars one-way from Dbaye to the port of Larnaca in Cyprus," said the manager of one make-shift travel agency in the port of Dbaye also north of Beirut.
"Demand has been steadily rising since Saturday," he told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.