Although there was some public and media outrage against the project at its initial phase, these mobilisations have died down. Two protests that got some media attention were the ones organised in Beirut, the first in front of the National Mesuem, by “The Coalition of organisations and civil society groups for Adloun” (تجمّع جمعيات وهيئات المجتمع المدني لأجل عدلون)* on January 22, 2016, and the second on 11 February, 2016 by the Civil Campaign to Protect the Dalieh of Raouche, which highlighted the corruption of State institutions and their protection of private interests, under the slogan: If you want to know what is happening in Adloun, you must know what is happening in Dalieh (إذا أردت أن تعرف ماذا في عدلون، فعليك أن تعرف ماذا في الدالية).

The majority of the public, especially the locals of Adloun, is scared to speak up against the project since it has the backing of Berri, and the region is dominated by his Amal party. As reported by one anonymous local, “no matter how much we object and launch campaigns against it, we know de facto that the new port will be built against our will. It all goes back to the power dynamics in Adloun and in Lebanon, in general.” [11].

The Ministries of Culture and Environment were also against the project, where the former demanded a halt to it until a joint committee assesses it, while the latter demanded stopping the project due to violation of EIA decree 8633, which states that ports require an EIA. [1] The Ministry of culture also sent two letters to the South Lebanon Governor asking him to stop all construction work, all to no avail. The Ministry of Public Works carried out with the excavation works, claiming that other ministries did not come up with alternative proposals for over 15 days, giving itself the de facto right to destroy the rocky coast. It is important to note that the Minister of Public works at the time, Gazi Zgheiter, had political ties with Nabih Berri, after whom the port is being named. A report by Al Akhbar provides more evidence of corruption, demonstrating that the $5 million excavation contract given to “Khoury Contracting Company” came under an irregular and unfair bid, [6] and with no consultation with the local community [2]. Of note, this company was recently also awarded a contract to operate the controversial Bourj Hammoud landfill.

The call by the Ministry of Environment to halt the project was in response to the organizing against the project, led by the local activist group Green Southeners, who were documenting the destruction of the beach, as well as highlighting its archeological and ecological significance, particularly as one of the few remaining sea turtle nesting grounds on the Lebanese coast. Local activists claim that Adloun is a historic site and the project will only bring destruction to the beach and its prehistoric caves and Phoenician ruins, and ruin the city’s historic identity. They sent a letter to the Ministry of environment asking it to classify the coast as a protected site of natural and cultural heritage and to forbid any kind of development to preserve its biological diversity. The Ministry of public works has retaliated that the new port will create jobs and help the local fishing community, while activists have responded that the purpose of the port is to accommodate 400 luxury yachts, being of no service to the local community while creating massive environmental damage to the village. Moreover, Dr. Maha El-Khalil, the head of the International Association to Safeguard Tyr, has claimed that there has not been a proper archeological excavation of the site, which is essential before planning construction on the site, and has refuted the claim that the project will provide jobs for the locals by saying that preservation and celebration of Adloun’s heritage will bring economic benefits, rather than creating yet another marina for the wealthy. [3]  Although some local groups are against the project, there does not seem to be massive organising to stop the project, and the former mayor of Adloun, Samih Wehbi, was supportive of the development, thanking Berri and Zeaiter for implementing a project everyone will benefit from. Meanwhile, during his visit to the site in the January of last year, Zeaiter announced that “To those who wanted to sabotage this work, we tell them that this vandalism will not make us back down on projects that we are working for [on behalf of] our people in the South.” [4] He was referring to activists setting fire to a machine belonging to the project contractor.  *The groups present were The Green Southeners, Greenline, NAHNOO, The Lebanese Eco Movement, and independent activists.

A report published by the University of Balamand, through the project “Environmental Resources Monitoring in Lebanon,” in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and with $1.64 million funding from the Government of Greece, found the Adloun coast as 1 out of 15 “sensitive” sites on the coast of Lebanon that require protection due to their ecological or cultural significance. [13]

The current port is to be both for fishermen and leisure boats, with a capacity of holding 400 yachts, as claimed by Director-General of Land and maritime transport Abdel-Hafiz Qaisi. [4] Part of the project includes building two breakwaters, the first with a length of 600 meters (Southerns side) and the second one of 240 meters (northern side). It will also include 9 births for fishermen and leisure boats, as well as storage area and fish market for the local fishermen. Finally, the project also includes establishing a public swimming pool, to be used by the locals. Half of the area of the project will be on public maritime property, while the other half by land reclamation. The location of the port blocks the only access to the public beach, since the rest of the beach has either been privatised or is inaccessible to the public due to the presence of private agricultural lands along the coastline, thus making the beach completely inaccessible to the public after the completion of the project. [11]

The rocks used to build the port are being transported from a nearby village, ِِAnsar, using trucks carrying the label of the public works ministry, where forests of oak trees are being cut down to extract the rocks, without a permit from the Ministry of Interior or from the Ministry of Environment (which requires an EIA for such quarrying activities). [8]

According to the Civil Campaign to Protect the Dalieh of Raouche, the coast where the project is ongoing consists of four big plots, which were bought by former Prime Minister Rafiq el Hariri in 1997 (around 45,000 square meters), and are now owned by his heirs. After Hariri bought these lands, the General Directorate of Urban Planning changed the zoning laws of these lands, changing their classification from agricultural to touristic lands, thus increasing the exploitation factor from 2% to 20%, all with the support of the Adloun municipality. Activists allege that the establishment of the port is only an initial step in the development of these lands to touristic resorts, which will also indirectly increase the market value of the plots. [13] Some anonymous activists also claim the Nabih Berri owns big plots of land near the port, and will benefit largely from the project.

شركة الجنوب للإعمار (South Company for Construction), which should have won the bid, filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Public works on 11 March 2015, through its attorney Ali Abbas, under the claims that public money was wasted during the first stage of the Adloun port works, [9] and won the case, after which the Shura Council asked Khoury Company to stop all construction works on the Adloun coast. [12]