A proposal which was submitted by the Chamber of Shipping concerning changing the customs law, whereby a detailed list of container contents is needed for cargo off-loaded in Beirut but destined for other countries, was agreed upon by the Customs Department.
Under the new agreement, only the container number and its weight will be required. This is expected to lead to a significant saving in time for containers in transit, and thus increase the appeal of Beirut Port as a transit point. The revised customs law, which will be in place before the year-end, will anchor the shipping companies to use the new container terminal as a hub port, as the latter will start operating in January 2001. — ( Banque du Liban et d'Outre-Mer Sal )
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
