‘New face’ for Lebanon: Beirut airport road revamp targets infrastructure and political banners

Report by Joe Farchakh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Welcome to Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport — the gateway to Lebanon and the first impression for every visitor.

What lingers with travelers on the ride from the airport to the capital? Traffic, disorder, and visual clutter. But that reality is beginning to change.

The airport road is no longer just a route between the airport and the capital, Beirut — it is also a political and cultural showcase of the country.

In a clear message to the international community, tourists, and Lebanese expatriates, authorities have launched a plan to rehabilitate the airport road. The effort is expected to extend to other areas as well.

The project goes beyond basic repaving. 

It includes road resurfacing, replacing damaged sidewalks, installing protective side barriers, upgrading and maintaining traffic signals, removing visually disruptive billboards, improving street lighting and landscaping, restoring stormwater drainage systems, and installing new ventilation fans in the tunnels leading to the airport. 

The rehabilitation project is part of a broader vision to transform Beirut into a city free of sectarian, political, and partisan slogans. 

In both directions, the Interior Ministry has begun implementing this plan along the road from downtown Beirut to the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium area. 
 
Through its ministries, departments, and agencies, the government has committed to the rehabilitation effort in partnership with the private sector, particularly Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier, which is assisting with work on the airport road. But, as always, the real test lies in execution.