Reconstruction Activities

Reconstruction Activities=

1. &n= bsp; Roads and Bridges

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According to final information from the Council of Development and Reconstruction (CDR) and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, the number of partially or totally destroyed bridges locate= d on main and secondary roads reached 91 bridges, out of which 73 have been adop= ted for reconstruction with the rest being financed by HRC.

CDR is currently handling the reconstruction of 49 bridg= es, 17 of which are in the South, 2 in Nabatieh, 24 in M= ount Lebanon, 3 in Bekaa and 3 in the North. The Ministry is handli= ng 42 bridges, 12 out of which are in the South, 13 in Nabatieh, 2 in Mount Lebanon, 9 in Bekaa and 6 in the North. Reconstruction activities on those bridges have gone a long way as 43 have = been completed while work is expected to be finalized in the rest of the bridges= by July 2007, except for Mudairej and Damour Archeological bridge on which works need a longer period of time.

In this concern, the HRC has assigned, through the Minis= try of Public Works and Transportation, the rehabilitation of 219 roads and the building of 44 road diversions and 21 passage ways to ensure traffic flow on all the Lebanese territory. Accomplished works totaled around LBP 5 billion, while total contracted works will exceed the amount of LBP 16 billion.=

2. &n= bsp; Telecommunications

The Ministry of Telecommunications is still working on t= he rehabilitation and reconstruction of telephone exchanges and fixed lines networks in all regions, and has made considerable progress so far. In the South, 98% of severely dama= ged telephone exchanges were rehabilitated, half of the damaged generating stat= ions are functional again, 67% of damaged public phones were restored, in additi= on to restoring 214 out of 779 fixed lines networks.

In Beirut Southern Suburbs, 45% of damaged fixed lines n= etworks were restored; in the Bekaa region, around 82% of networks are functional again, and in the North 50 % of networks were restored.

3. &n= bsp; Energy

In the Electricity sector, and concerning the Production Directorate, basic rehabilitation works have been undertaken, with a total = cost of around USD 1.9 million, including the cost of hiring a boat as a floating fuel reservoir for 60 days. The sector still needs additional rehabilitation estimated at around USD 45 million, noting that the reparation of fuel tank= s in Jieh thermal station will be done by Egyptian c= ompany Petrojet by means of an Egyptian grant. On anot= her level, the Transmission Directorate restored all transformation stations, m= ost of low voltage and high voltage lines and subterranean cables, with a total cost of around USD 2.4 million, while remaining needed works are estimated = at USD 521,000.

In the Distribution Directorate for regions outside Beirut and Mount Lebanon, transformation stations and medium voltage networks were restored in full, while 88% of low voltage networks were restored, with a total cost at around USD 22.7 million. The cost of additional required rehabilitation is estimat= ed at USD 1.8 million. In Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the cost of restoration was around U= SD 738,000, whereas the cost of unfinished rehabilitation is over USD 2.7 mill= ion. As for buildings and vehicles, around USD 11,000 has been spent so far on immediate restoration, while some USD 360,000 are still needed to cover the damages caused by the latest Israeli Offensive.

In the water sector, South Lebanon Water Authority was a= ble to restore all water networks and pumping stations via financing from HRC. = It also rehabilitated 48 reservoirs out of 58 damaged and totally destroyed reservoirs, and is still coordinating with UNICEF to rehabilitate the rest.= The cost of the works done so far was financed by the HRC and amounted to around LBP 2 billion.

Litani Water Authority has repaired 3 water pipelines fr= om Litani generating station, and finalized necessary repairs in water pumps i= n Qasmieh project and a generating station in Markaba serving West Bekaa and South. In this concern, USAID donated USD 850,000 and USD 500,000 e rehabilitating the Qasmieh irrigation project a= nd re-equipping a pumping station respectively.

As for Bekaa Water Authority, it was able to finalize all restoration of damaged pumps in Baalbeck, West Bekaa and Zahleh, as well as all networks in Baalbeck, West and Central Bekaa. It is currently finalizing works on rehabilitating a wa= ter reservoir in Baalbeck. HRC financed restoration works by the amount of LBP = 200 million, and the rest through a grant from AVSI.

Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Autho= rity was able to restore all water pumps and networks in the Shouf and Byblos, while repairing networks in Beirut Southern Suburb is still waiting the finalization of infrastructure reconstruction.

1. &n= bsp; Schools

The Ministry of Education is still monitoring the rehabilitation and reconstruction process of damaged schools, and so far 791 out of a total of 862 schools have been rehabilitated, 22 totally destructed schools are still being reconstructed, and 22 prefabricated schools out of = a total of 50 schools offered by Turkey have been installed. Details of rehabilitation were as follows:<= /span>

· HRC finalized the rehabilitation of 353 public and priva= te schools in all regions that welcomed refugees during the offensive totaling= LBP 6 billion, and is contracting some additional necessary works for 29 school= s, based on the Ministry's request

· The UAE finalized rehabilitation work on 257 schools in = the South and 11 schools in the Shouf area, and is currently reconstructing 5 totally destroyed schools in the South

· Qatar, which adopted the rehabilita= tion of 30 schools, finalized the needed restoration in the damaged schools, and will soon start reconstructing the totally destroyed schools

· Al Walid Ben Talal Foundatio= n has completed the restoration and reconstruction of 10 schools in Beirut Southe= rn Suburb

· Switzerland rehabilitated 63 damaged scho= ols, Mercycorps 40 schools, IOCC 22 schools, Caritas 2 sch= ools, Farah al Ataa 3 scgools, while Iran is still studying the rehabilitation of 71 schools

· In addition, the USA offered a USD 6 million g= rant for rehabilitating and re-equipping 219 schools.

2. &n= bsp; Airports

Concerning the Rafic Ha= riri International Airport, the Directorate of Civil Aviation is still striving to finalize the rehabilitation of the third damaged fuel tank, thanks to a generous contribution by the CCC Company, while HRC financed the USD 364,000 supervi= sion costs were born by the HRC. Restoration work is expected to be finalized wi= thin 4 months due to the import period for some needed equipment.

Concerning the rest of the airports, the runway of the <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Quleait Airport has been fixed, while the works in Riyak Airport are expecte= d to be finalized in a week's time, with total cost exceeding USD 2 million.

3. &n= bsp; Rubble and Debris Removal

The HRC, which has completed the 1.43 million cubic mete= rs rubble and debris removal in Beirut Southern Suburbs and placed them in temporary dumps in Khaldeh - Ouzai and the surroundings of Rafic Hariri International Airp= ort, is currently finalizing the partial destruction of damaged buildings which = are expected to yield around 23,000 cubic meters of additional rubble. The cost= of rubble clearance in Beirut Southern Suburbs has reached so far LBP 12.5 million.

In the South, the Council for the South is still working with HRC's consultant, Kha= tib & Alami, on measuring debris quantities and contracting works after the approval of HRC. The quantity of debris and wreckag= e of 284 villages, with 10,990 housing units totally destroyed and 1,320 units partially destroyed, was measured and removal works contracted in the cazas of Saida, Tyre, Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil, where = 3.32 million cubic meters have been cleared so far with a total cost of LBP 7 billion. In the Bekaa, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation has finalized the removal of debris works, and until now, 1 million cubic meter= s of rubble have been cleared with a cost of around LBP 8 billion.

4. &n= bsp; Retrofit for Unstable Building Structures and Rehabilitation in Beirut Southern Suburbs

The HRC's consultant has pre= sented a recommendation concerning the number of buildings with unstable structure= s in Beirut Southern Suburb and that need retrofit works totaling around 235, ou= t of which 70 need total demolition, 43 partial demolition, 105 structural rehabilitation and 17 still under consideration. They are currently preparing related structural designs and preparing files for contracting. The total cost of works of restoration of 164 of these buildin= gs has been estimated at around LBP 10 billion, noting that works on 6 of these buildings have been finalized.

In addition, 5.5-kilometer roads have been restored for a total cost of LBP 578 million, and 5,758-kilometer fences around damaged buildings shelters were contracted for a total cost of LBP 374 million. Meanwhile, the rest of Beirut Southern Suburbs' infrastructure will be rehabilitated by CDR.