Despite the recent kerfuffle on social media and promises of street action from activists, a 1.3 kilometer road known as the Fouad Butrous Highway will be built in Ashrafieh, the vice president of Beirut’s Municipal Council told NOW.

 

“The tender has been accomplished,” Nadim Abu Rizk, from the council, told NOW. “The contractor signed the deal.” He added that the $60 million the municipality will be paying from its own funds to build the new highway has already been transferred to the Council for Reconstruction and Development (CDR), which will work with and pay the contractor.

 

“This is the worst possible news I could have heard today,” Georgio Tarraf, from Save Beirut Heritage, said when NOW briefed him on the interview with Abu Rizk.

 

In recent days artist renderings of the highway – which will connect the Alfred Naccache road near Spinney’s supermarket to the Charles Helou Highway near Beirut Port – have been circulating on Facebook, drawing the ire of many. However, the people circulating the images were not aware that, from the Municipality’s point of view, the project is a done deal. [Link]