$4.4 billion pledged in Brussels for Syria and its neighbors. Government committed to expanding the tracking system, monitoring, and evaluation

Participants in the second Brussels conference on 'Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region' pledged $4.4 billion for 2018 for Syria and its neighboring countries, as well as multi-year pledges of $3.4 billion for 2019-2020. The promised amounts are grants.

Several international financial institutions and donors also announced around $21.2 billion in concessional loans.

The Brussels II conference took place on 24-25 April 2018 and was hosted by the European Union and co-chair...

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Residency for foreign property buyers suspended. Constitutional Council to hear appeal by parliamentarians

The Constitutional Council suspended Article 49 of the State 2018 budget, pending a final ruling on an appeal submitted by ten members of Parliament.

Article 49 grants residency to foreigners who purchase apartments valued at $500,000 in Beirut, and $332,000 outside Beirut.

On Tuesday a group of ten members of the Parliament lodged an appeal before the Constitutional Council to challenge the article.

These lawmakers are Sami Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, Samer Saadeh, Fadi El-H...

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Restaurant cluster opens in Hazmieh. First project by AHAS Group

AHAS Group, a real estate and contracting company, has inaugurated 'Citywalk', a restaurant cluster in Hazmieh.

The project is a partnership between AHAS Group, owned by Hussein Sbeity, Mohamad Kalakech, and Mohamad Taleb.

The land plot is 7,500 square meters (m2) in size, and the Gross Leasable Area (GLA) is 4,000 m2.

Investment in the project is $6 million, excluding the cost of the land, which is leased.

The cluster comprises restaurants, cafés, a kid's ...

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Customs charges and fees cut on hybrid and electrical cars. First electrical chargers at Medco stations

The 2018 budget, now approved by the Parliament, has amended customs charges and tariffs on eco-friendly cars.

Customs and excise fees on hybrid cars, which use both gasoline and electrical power, have been decreased to 20 percent. Public transportation vehicles will benefit from an additional decrease in customs and excise fees, falling to ten percent. The latter will also benefit from discounted registration and mechanique fees at their first registration.

Private vehicles that o...

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Roads in Mount Lebanon, Akkar to get uplifted. Part of a Ministry plan to rehabilitate and develop 150 roads

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is executing 27 roads, mainly in Mount Lebanon and Akkar after it received a budget allocation of $50 million, according to Tanios Boulos, Director of the General Directorate of Buildings and Roads at the Ministry.

The roads span 151 kilometers in total.

The development is part of a decision that was issued by the Council of Ministers in 2012, which approved the Ministry's plan to rehabilitate and develop 150 roads. But the Ministry did n...

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