The Port of Beirut reported that revenues dropped by almost 6 percent in 2000 as a result of Lebanon’s reduced import bill. Port income, reflecting port charges and excluding customs revenues, amounted to $66.9 million last year as total imports fell 12 percent to $6.22 billion.
For the whole of 2000, the number of imported containers fell by 1.4 percent, while exported containers rose by 2.1 percent.
Despite the slowdown in cargo handling, the number of passenger arrivals increased by 27 percent to 47,000 in 2000, the highest volume over the last decade and in line with the expectations of Port Director Issam Bekdache.
Bekdache predicted that the number of containers would increase by between 150,000 and 400,000 in 2001, as soon as the new container terminal is ready for handling local and trans-shipment traffic. — (Lebanon Invest)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
