The "World Bank" estimated the losses of Beirut port explosion between $6.7 and $8.1 billion, indicating that Lebanon urgently needs between $605 and $760 million to recover again.
The August 4 explosion, which destroyed a large part of the city’s port and the surrounding area, caused property damage ranging between $3.8 and $4.6 billion, while it led to economic losses resulting from a decline in the production of various sectors of the economy by between $2.9 and $3.5 billion, according to United Nations and European Union estimates.
According to the World Bank, the sectors most affected are housing, transportation, and cultural heritage (including religious and archaeological sites, national monuments, theaters, archives, and libraries). The bank estimated the immediate needs for reconstruction (by the end of the year) at 605 to 760 million dollars, and 1.18 to 1.46 billion dollars for the year 2021. The transport sector is the most in need of assistance, followed by the culture and housing sectors.
On the macroeconomic level, the World Bank shows that the explosion resulted from three main economic impacts: losses in economic activities resulting from the loss of physical capital, disruption of trade exchange, and the loss of part of the state's income. As a result, Lebanon's GDP is expected to decline by an additional 0.4 points in 2020 & 0.6 points next year.
Source (Al Khaleej Newspaper-UAE, Edited)
