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The newly earmarked money will be used to repair about 500km of roads in the first phase of a broader government plan to revamp the country’s crumbling road sector. The problems with roads area seen as a risk to public safety as well as an impediment to urban-rural development and equitable economic growth.
“This is to help Lebanon continue to offer basic services both to its citizens and to Syrian refugees in the country,” said Ferid Belhaj, the World Bank’s director for the Middle East. “By hosting refugees, Lebanon is offering the international community a global public good. International financial support needs to increase to match its generosity.”
The World Bank said that the presence of more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees has put unprecedented pressure on Lebanon’s already strained infrastructure. It has also fuelled social tensions, and changed the labour market by increasing the workforce by 35%. The road repair works would help provide more low-skilled jobs.
“Historically, the construction sector has been a primary source of income for poorer Lebanese and Syrians,” stated Ziad El Nakat, senior World Bank transport specialist. “And it continues to play this role.”
The Roads and Employment Project would “also improve the quality and safety of the road network, particularly in less developed regions of the country, improving connectivity, reducing the cost of transport, and helping local economies develop through better access to markets and services,” he added.
Lebanon has one the highest per capita rates of road accidents in the world. The World Health Organization estimated the total number of road traffic fatalities in 2015 at 1,088, and their associated economic cost at between 3% and 5% of GDP.
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