Lebanese Economy Minister Raoul Neama said today, Thursday, that the losses of the Beirut port explosion are estimated at billions of dollars, noting that his country does not have the financial ability to face its repercussions.
Nima stated in press statements today that the losses are exorbitant, and that the wheat silos were completely damaged in the port, and we need time to assess the damages, according to the Anatolia Agency.
It is expected that the economic sector and commercial traffic in Lebanon will face additional crises after the explosion, which is likely to cause shortages of basic commodities.
The port is considered a temporary warehouse for many major commodities, such as grains of all kinds. The port land is classified as the largest storage site in Lebanon for grains, foodstuffs, medicine, and others.
The Lebanese minister added that "the capacity of banks and the central bank is limited in the current period, and the hard currency in Lebanon today is not a large number", and he saw that the only solution at the present time would be with the International Monetary Fund, without additional details.
And last month, Lebanon had technical discussions with a team from the International Monetary Fund, in an attempt to get out of the economic, financial and monetary crisis that the country has been witnessing since last October.
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The explosion adds to the pain of a country that has been suffering for months from a severe economic crisis and intense political polarization, in a scene in which regional and international parties overlap.
And the countries of the world declared their solidarity with Lebanon and their willingness to provide aid, many of which have already arrived within hours of the explosion, including field hospitals, medical teams and medicines.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Wednesday that the damage caused by the Beirut port explosion would exacerbate the economic crisis in the country.
"We expect that the damage caused to the port will greatly exacerbate the economic situation and food security in Lebanon, which imports about 80-85% of the food," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the international organization during his daily press conference in New York.
Haq added that the United Nations is working closely with the authorities in Lebanon to support response efforts in the wake of the massive explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, which led to the destruction of large parts of the capital.
And yesterday, Wednesday, the Governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, estimated the damage caused by the port explosion between 3 and 5 billion dollars as a preliminary figure.
The captured images show the size of the losses suffered by the port's land, which is one of the 10 most important ports in the Mediterranean, in addition to commercial and residential facilities, up to 15 km from the center of the explosion.
The value of the initial losses of $ 5 billion is equivalent to about 9.36% of the value of Lebanon's gross domestic product during 2019, which amounts to $ 53.37 billion.
The amount is also 4 times the value of the Eurobond bonds (debt denominated in dollars) that Lebanon defaulted last March of $ 1.2 billion, and losses equaled 25% of the country's foreign exchange reserves of $ 20 billion.
For its part, the World Bank announced on Wednesday its willingness to mobilize its resources to assist Lebanon after the massive explosion, and stressed its ability to use its expertise "to conduct a rapid assessment of the damages and needs, and to develop a plan for reconstruction in accordance with international standards."
The World Bank suggested "sharing lessons and experiences from all over the world in managing recovery and post-disaster reconstruction", and stressed that it could "actively participate in a platform with Lebanon's partners, to mobilize public and private financial support for reconstruction."