Experts recommend demolishing the destroyed grain silos in the port of Beirut

In a report published on Monday, experts warned that grain silos in the Beirut port, which were severely damaged when they absorbed the bulk of the storm of the massive explosion that destroyed last summer, large parts of the Lebanese capital, must be demolished because they are a ramshackle building.

Aman Engineering, the Swiss company that helped Lebanon with laser scanning of grain waste at the port in the wake of the catastrophic explosion on August 4, said that the irradiated silo block is today an "unstable and mobile structure".

"Our recommendation is to proceed with the dismantling of this huge concrete block," the company added in its report, warning that "as it has become clear, the concrete pillars have suffered severe damage ... new silos will have to be built in a different location."

Economy Minister Raul Nehme said in November that the government would demolish this waste, which was the largest store of grain in the country, due to public safety concerns, but the authorities have not yet taken any decision in this regard.

And after these absurdities, with their giant 48-meter-high concrete construction and a huge carrying capacity of more than 100,000 tons, were considered one of the valves of Lebanon's food security, today they have become a symbol of the catastrophic explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,500 others and caused severe damage In the port and in a number of neighborhoods of the capital.

The blast occurred in a hangar in the port adjacent to the silhouettes in which for years they had stored huge quantities of ammonium nitrate without any respect for safety, according to the authorities.

In fact, this gigantic concrete structure absorbed the bulk of the storm of the devastating explosion, protecting the western part of the capital from similar damage to what was inflicted on its eastern part.

In its report, the Swiss company said, "The facts show that there is no way to guarantee safety, even in the medium term, as the northern block (of the building) remains as it is."

She added that the damage to some silos was so severe that these silos were tilted at a dangerous rate.

She explained that these silos "tend at a rate of 2 mm per day, which is a lot from a structural point of view."

She added, "For comparison, the Pisa tower in Italy was tilted by about 5 mm per year before it was installed" by special engineering measures.

This death sentence on grain silos increases concerns related to food security in Lebanon, a country that is grappling with an unprecedented economic and financial crisis.

Lebanon depends on imports for 85 percent of its food needs.

In the wake of the explosion, Lebanon received donations of grain and flour.

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