ALBAWABA - New aerial images of the United States embassy in Lebanon reignited a debate among social media users who questioned the reason behind its enormous size and expensive cost.
The new U.S. embassy in Beirut, which is still under construction at the cost of $1.2 billion, is being built on a 43-acre space. It will be the world's second-biggest U.S. embassy following the one in Baghdad, Iraq, which falls on 104 acres.
التكلفة: 1.2 مليار دولار
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?السفارة الأمريكية في لبنان أكبر من الضاحية يا سيد ? pic.twitter.com/9WV0p1Vpxc
The U.S. embassy in Beirut will take over the second rank filled previously by the one in Yerevan, Armenia, which was built on a 22-acre site.
Many Lebanese questioned the huge size of the U.S. embassy in such a small country which was torned by COVID-19, Beirut's port blast and the absence of a government as well as a president since the end of Micheal Aoun's term in October 2022.
(Source: website of U.S. embassy in Lebanon)
Some people linked the massive size of the new embassy to the alleged "growing role played by the U.S. in Lebanese politics," particularly as the different sides of Lebanese politics had repeatedly exchanged accusations of affiliation to foreign parties, including the U.S. and Iran.
The U.S. embassy in Lebanon said in a statement that the new embassy compound is under the care of the Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) who have a dedicated team based in Beirut with Morphosis Architects of Culver City, California, as the architect for the project, and B.L. Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama as the construction contractor.
The U.S. announced its plan to build a new embassy in Beirut in May 2015.
