A commitment to better infrastructure
LEBANON, AND BEIRUT IN PARTICULAR, ARE SEEING A RENAISSANCE IN CONSTRUCTION AS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC OPERATORS REBUILD A SHATTERED INFRASTRUCTURE

Fouad El-Khazen Chairman of the Syndicate of Contractors

In the wake of Lebanon’s devastating civil war, the construction industry has seen an unprecedented boom. Reconstruction accelerated after the Hariri government took over in 1992. “Since then, the entire infrastructure has been rebuilt at a cost of 5 to 6 billion Lebanese pounds,” says Fouad El-Khazen, Chairman of the Syndicate of Contractors, whose 60 year-old company was founded in the Palestine Authority. “We were doing buildings, roads, tunnels, bridges, pipelines and electronic machinery before the civil war,” he recalls.
Roads, buildings, hotels, marinas and a new international airport are the result of this second infrastructural renaissance. Mr. El-Khazen praises the 5 year old Solidere company, which built his offices and most of the rest of modern Beirut, as a prime example of a private and independent construction business and notes how recent visitors and dignitaries have been impressed by the way the city has been so dynamically transformed. As an unexpected cultural bonus, excavations have uncovered valuable archeological relics buried by earthquakes over the centuries.

Mr. El-Khazen is in charge of the syndicate’s building and contracting sector, but he feels he has been hampered by administrative bureaucracy which dates from the French colonial era of 1943. He feels that legislative reforms are needed to lighten this burden and improve efficiency in commissioning building contracts. His own style is based on meritocracy rather than “religion or looks” and he would like to see the government acting similarly “to provide qualified people with a professional consciousness.”
Abroad he sees short-term growth prospects in the Gulf States and Nigeria, while at home he is trying to put across the image of Lebanon as the place for foreign countries and companies to invest. He thinks the U.S., already a presence with the Sheraton and Inter Continental Hotels, should forget political and security doubts and look deeper into the tourism sector.

Nicolas Nahas General Manager of Ciment de Sibline

Another important player in the construction sector is Ciment de Sibline, a part public part private cement-manufacturing company backed by over 5,000 shareholders. General Manager Nicolas Nahas sees the public level as fueled by the capabilities of the country’s economy, while the private sector relies mainly on the global working Lebanese diaspora. “In the public sector there was huge activity between 1996 and 1998,” he says. This is now slower because of a different agenda and maturing of most earlier plans. Improved public financial figures are needed to move forward again.
Mr. Nahas refutes accusations of pollution by environmental groups such as Greenpeace and claims that emissions are registered and measured weekly by sophisticated equipment. He also counters critics who say he has turned Beirut into a “concrete jungle” and claims that without the 1960 urban planning policy the capital would be “unbelievable.” Hemmed in by sea and mountains the city cannot expand, so high-rise buildings are inevitable. “Beirut is Beirut.”

Ciment de Sibline is ranked third nationally and Mr. Nahas attributes its success in a competitive world to a strict quality control. He has three international certificates to prove it and his company’s motto, ‘Quality is our brand, services are our aim’, says it all. The company also keeps up to date with equipment. “The new line is the most advanced technology available,” he says. “In administration we are also very sophisticated.” Mr. Hahas refutes the suggestion that Ciment de Sibline has been affected by the general recession. “We are 17-18% up on last year,” he points out, but would welcome a foreign injection of funds to boost its market share. “I think we are a good opportunity for investment as we invest a lot ourselves.”