Lebanon has launched a $100m expansion of Beirut port’s container terminal as it seeks to restore the facility’s role as a major transport and logistics hub in the eastern Mediterranean.
The project, being carried out by French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM, will significantly increase the size and capacity of the terminal, which has seen traffic grow since the company took over its management in 2022.
Under the plan, the terminal’s yard area will expand from about 45 hectares to roughly 75 hectares, while annual handling capacity is expected to rise from about 1.2-1.3 million standard containers to three million.
The work is expected to take between 16 and 18 months, with the expanded facility due to be fully operational by 2028.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who attended Thursday’s foundation-stone ceremony alongside senior ministers and CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saadé, said the project went beyond a physical expansion of the port.
He described it as a step towards restoring Beirut port’s historic role as one of the main ports of the eastern Mediterranean.
The port has long served as one of Lebanon’s principal commercial gateways, linking the country with Arab markets and Europe.
Salam said that competition between ports in the region was no longer based on geography alone, but increasingly depended on effective management and modern technology.
He also said efforts to redevelop the port must remain separate from the pursuit of justice over the devastating explosion of 4 August 2020.
The blast, which killed more than 200 people and destroyed large parts of Beirut, was caused by a massive quantity of ammonium nitrate stored for years at the port.
Salam said the memory of the victims required improvements in the way the port was run and safeguards to prevent another disaster caused by negligence.
He said studies were also under way for a possible tunnel and railway link between Beirut port and the Bekaa Valley.
The government is considering wider plans to connect Beirut more effectively with Lebanon’s other ports in Tripoli, Jounieh and Sidon as part of a national maritime transport strategy.
Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny said the government regarded Lebanon’s ports not simply as facilities to be administered, but as strategic assets capable of helping the country rebuild its economic and regional role.
He said the expansion was intended to strengthen Beirut’s position in eastern Mediterranean trade and place the port within a wider network involving Lebanon’s airport, roads, railways and land crossings.
Rasamny said investment in Lebanon should also be seen as “a decision of confidence”, adding that investment from a global company the size of CMA CGM carried particular significance.
Beirut as a logistics hub
The government is also examining proposals to restore railway links with Syria and potentially revive part of the historic Hejaz Railway.
Rasamny said Lebanon was seeking a role in major regional transport projects, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as IMEC.
Port chairman and director-general Marwan Nefi said the expansion was the third and largest phase of development in the history of the container terminal.
He said the new capacity would place Beirut among the larger container terminals in the Mediterranean and strengthen its potential as a regional logistics hub.
Nefi said the port could not afford to remain on the margins as global trade routes and logistics corridors were rapidly reshaped.
He said 2028 would be an important year for Beirut port, with the expansion due to be completed and the city expected to host the general assembly of Mediterranean ports.
The development is taking place alongside a broader overhaul of the port, including work to improve safety and security, modernise management and services, rebuild infrastructure and restore confidence among investors and commercial partners.
CMA CGM said its $100m investment would be concentrated in three main areas.
The company plans to increase capacity by building a new quay, installing mobile cranes and adding storage space.
It will also introduce an automated entry gate and a customs inspection area equipped with scanners, while hybrid and energy-efficient handling equipment will be used to reduce the terminal’s environmental impact.
Saadé said CMA CGM remained committed to Lebanon for the long term. The group employs about 4,000 people in the country through its shipping and related activities.
The company has managed the container terminal since 2022, taking over less than two years after the port explosion and during one of the worst economic crises in Lebanon’s modern history.
Officials say container traffic has risen steadily since then, bringing the terminal close to its existing maximum capacity and helping make further expansion necessary.
The government hopes the development will reduce waiting times for ships, speed up container handling and generate additional revenue for the state.
It also represents a broader test of Lebanon’s ability to manage major public assets more effectively after years of weak governance and infrastructure failures.
The investigation into the 2020 port explosion remains unresolved, and the disaster continues to loom over attempts to rebuild confidence in the facility.
Lebanese officials nevertheless argue that the latest investment shows Beirut port can regain its role as an important link between Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East.