Church and state

Earlier this year, Executive started an investigation into an expansion project at the Port of Beirut (POB) aimed at enhancing capabilities and readying Lebanon’s primary port for future competition. The plan was to create a multi-purpose terminal — at a cost of $129 million — building a new quay to accommodate larger seafaring vessels and filling the Basin 4 to create a backyard for general cargo and container storage. The project’s key measure of filling in Basin 4 caused a huge stir as soon as contractors commenced work. The first line of opposition was as vocal as it was obvious: truckers, fearing for their livelihoods, blocked POB access. Their union argued that filling Basin 4 would eliminate trucking jobs for general cargo — materials ranging from steel girders, baled and boxed goods to cars. However, it quickly emerged that the truckers’ grievances were barely the tip of a much wider