The month-long Israeli bombardments inflicted material damages on Lebanon worth US$3.5 billion, the head of reconstruction in the country said on Wednesday.
“The damage incurred amounts to US$3.5 billion dollars. This includes 2.0 billion for buildings and 1.5 billion for infrastructure,” such as bridges, roads, and power plants, the head of Lebanon state council for development and reconstruction Fadl Shalak told AFP.
He added that the figures, which do not include the indirect losses to business and industry, were still not final.
Meanwhile, leading Lebanese businessmen and private companies pledged Wednesday to rebuild 12 of the 80 bridges destroyed by Israeli attacks. Legislator Bahia Hariri, sister of slain billionaire former Premier Rafik Hariri, said her family has committed to rebuilding five bridges in south Lebanon, including bridges linking the banks of the Awali River, north of Sidon, and Zahrani, south of the city. The Hariri group's Geneco company will begin work very soon, she conveyed.
Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri will finance the reconstruction of four bridges in the south, whereas his brother Bahaa will take charge of works on the Zahrani bridge, the Hariri-owned Future television said. Saad has also pledged to repair three other bridges in the northern Akkar region, the station added.
Former premier Najib Mikati commissioned the public works company Dar al-Handassah to rebuild the Madfoun bridge, linking the capital with north Lebanon. The Mikati family is a major shareholder of telecommunications giant Investcom, with assets estimated at US$5 billion.
