Details revealing Qulawiyat Airport … prominent information about him

The “Al -Hurra” website published a new report in which it touched on the file of operating Al -Qulayat Airport in Lebanon and the consequent details related to the economic reality.

The report says that “the demands to operate the Qaliaat airport returned to the fore again, amid the transformation of the roads leading to the international airport in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, into a political pressure paper, which is closed with every protest movement led by Hezbollah supporters.”

Rafic Hariri Airport is the only international airport in Lebanon, and it is located near Hezbollah’s influence, while René Moawad (Qulayat) Airport is located in northern Lebanon, and is currently used by the Lebanese army.

Although these claims are not new, today they have become more urgent. For more than two decades, the Qulawiyat airport file has been presented as an economic and development solution that can create thousands of job opportunities and move the wheel of investment in the disadvantaged northern regions, according to the report.

However, the recent crises added to this requirement strategic dimension, especially after the registration of Israeli raids near Beirut airport during the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel, and its exposure to Israeli bombing in July 2006, except that some believe that the airport has somewhat subjected to Hezbollah’s influence, according to What the report says.

Despite the link between these claims and the recent tensions witnessed by the Beirut Airport Road, the head of the Follow -up Committee for the operation of Al -Qulayat Airport, Hamid Zakaria, confirms that the calls to restart Qaliat Airport “are not an immediate reaction to political and security developments, but rather stems from an urgent national and economic need.”

Zakaria told Al -Hurra that “this project comes within the framework of the development of the disadvantaged areas in the north of the country, away from the immediate political accounts.”

Zakaria also stressed that the presence of two airports in Lebanon is the right choice, indicating that the demand for operating Qulayat airport is based on Law No. 481/2002, related to the management of the civil aviation sector, which allows the possibility of operating the airport and developing it to serve the region and the Lebanese people in general.

From a military base to a civilian airport

The file of operating Al -Qulayat Airport was included in the draft ministerial statement of the new government, and according to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Works Committee, MP Sajie Attia, confirms in an interview with Al -Hurra, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam presented a categorical promise to start working on it.

Attia explained that “the official procedures for launching the project require only the signing of the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rasamani,” noting that the process will take place according to the BOT system, where a private company will finance the project and obligate it after preparing the Ministry of Work Ready for that.

Al -Qulayat Airport is located on the northern coast of Lebanon, 7 km from the Lebanese -Syrian border and 25 km from the city of Tripoli, and it was built in the middle of the last century for civil purposes.

In 1966, the Lebanese army received the airport, and transformed it, according to “International Information”, to a military base for the French Mirage aircraft that he bought from France.

During the Lebanese civil war, and because of the difficult road between Tripoli and Beirut, the airport was used as an internal airport, under pressure from the late Prime Minister, Rashid Karami.

The airport holds a prominent political importance, as on November 5, 1989 witnessed a session of the House of Representatives, during which the Taif Document was approved, Hussein Al -Husseini was re -elected as President of the Council, and the election of René Moawad as President of the Republic, and after the assassination of Moawad on November 22, 1989, the airport was named in honor .

How ready is it?

The total area of ​​Qulaieat Airport is also explained by Zakaria, “5.5 million square meters, with 3 million square meters, which can be investigated around it.”

It includes a 3200 -meter lifeline that can be extended to 3800 meters, and it is in good condition and needs simple maintenance, while the buildings are dilapidated and require complete rebuilding.

A report issued by a committee from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, after a field visit to Al -Qulayat Airport in the beginning of 2012, had revealed a great response in the conditions of the airport, whether in terms of infrastructure or the readiness of the facilities, which makes it inappropriate for civil use.

The report indicated that the central is old and allocated 25 lines from the town of Qulayat, and that the parking lots can accommodate about 100 cars, but they are in a bad condition.

Regarding the storage of fuel, the report indicated that there are five tanks intended for aircraft fuel, each with a capacity of 100,000 liters, which are in good condition, and the airport also contains Hungary for aircraft.

The committee described the road leading from the airport entrance to the facilities, which is 1,800 meters long, as a very bad condition, and the report also recorded the absence of guidance signals on the runway, aircraft square and corridors, in addition to the lack of lighting.

In the field of safety, there is a firefighting center at the airport equipped with two firefighting cars, while sewage and water drainage networks at the airport are in a very bad condition.

As for the fence of the surrounding of the airport, it extends 13.5 km and a height of 220 meters, and there are two electrical transformers with a power of 400 kva each.

With regard to the airport capacity, the report indicated that the aircraft parking square does not accommodate more than two planes at the same time.

Simple procedures

Despite the disruption of his continuous operation, Zakaria expresses his optimism about the recent political developments, “especially with Nawaf Salam’s arrival to the prime minister, and he promised to activate the airport.”

He also pointed to the statements of the Minister of Transport regarding the appointment of members of the Civil Aviation Authority, considering that “these steps may open the way for the airport restarting.”

Zakaria reminded that Law No. 481/2002 provides for the establishment of this body, which is supposed to supervise the operation and rehabilitation of airports, “However, this body has not been activated until now, and the Civil Aviation Directorate has been sufficient directly under the authority of the Minister of Public Works and Transport.”

On the technical readiness, Zakaria stressed that the infrastructure of the Qulawiyat airport is ready to start its rehabilitation, saying: “If the government put the project on the correct railway and the works start in the middle of this year, it is possible that the airport is ready to work within three years.”

He explained that “the financing of the airport’s rehabilitation can be secured through international companies without the state to download any financial burdens, provided that the basic infrastructure of roads, lighting and electricity outside the airport is provided.”

For his part, Attia stressed the necessity of starting the airport rehabilitation work during the next six months, “so that it is ready to enter the active service by the end of this year”, revealing his intention to land at the airport with a private plane next week.

As for the researcher in “International Information”, Mohamed Shams El -Din, he pointed out that the cost of rehabilitation of Qulayat airport is 300 million dollars, but he stressed that only 40 million dollars are sufficient to operate it within six months, in the event of a political decision.

Shams Al -Din explained that “Qulayat Airport has a ready infrastructure, as it does not need to remove buildings around it or fill the sea, as happened at Beirut International Airport, which cost $ 100 million to expand its runway.”

He pointed out that “the lands surrounding the Qulayat airport are vast, and the runway can be easily poured to be ready to receive aircraft, and the main building can be equipped within a few months, with the possibility of its expansion later.” (Free)