Building Violations Reach Airport Fence, Baroud and Aridi Warn of ‘Dangerous Consequences’
Building violations on state property have reached dangerous proportions after violations neared the fence of Rafik Hariri international airport, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The daily said that violators had built illegally on state property near the new 16th seaside tarmac of the airport and the old number 17 runway, the daily said, warning that such a move could go all the way towards putting the facility on the international blacklist.
Caretaker Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi confirmed to An Nahar that illegal construction was flourishing despite the crackdown. He said if a “disaster” takes place, “it would harm us as Lebanese in the plane and on the ground.”
He told An Nahar that such violations were not only made on public property but also on the safety of aviation.
Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud also warned against “the disastrous results of this encroachment on aviation safety.” He told An Nahar that the illegal buildings should be “immediately torn down.”
“Let those who covered up or turned a blind eye to them take responsibility for what Aridi is warning of,” Baroud said.
He blamed years of lax security measures for the boom in illegal construction in the past weeks. Baroud also said that violators are taking advantage of the absence of a government and the political vacuum to carry out more illegal construction work.
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