Lebanon · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Nawaf Salam Launches 23 Reconstruction Bids in Nabatieh, Rejects Waiting for Regional Deal
Salam announced 23 reconstruction tenders in Nabatieh to restart southern Lebanon recovery. He said Lebanon cannot wait for a regional settlement and will seek international funding.
Whether security is the main prerequisite.
6 of 9 outlets skipped it: security and safety are cited as the foundation for residents' return.
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Al-Manar TV Lebanon
“security and safety are the foundation for the return of residents and the reconstruction of the area.”Read the original ↗
Kuwait Times
“the scale of the needs exceeds the capacities of the Lebanese state and its ability to bear these burdens alone”Read the original ↗
Al-Manar emphasises security and safety as the basis for return, while other outlets emphasise Lebanon’s funding limits for reconstruction.
Rebuilding starts in Nabatieh
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam traveled to Nabatieh, the main city of southern Lebanon devastated by Israeli strikes, to formalize the start of the reconstruction process. Salam told local authorities and representatives of civil society that Beirut cannot wait for a hypothetical regional arrangement to initiate rebuilding of affected areas. Salam framed the Nabatieh choice as a signal that the central state was taking back control of a dossier long kept within the orbit of non-state actors and foreign donors.
Salam said the government intended to prioritize interventions, first addressing essential public facilities, emergency rehousing, and the rehabilitation of access to border villages. The reconstruction effort faces a funding question as the country remains mired in an economic and banking crisis unparalleled since 2019.
23 bids and state control
Nawaf Salam arrived in Nabatieh on Friday and announced bids for recovery and reconstruction while reiterating that the government’s priority is to halt Israeli attacks and the complete Israeli withdrawal from the south. Salam said, "I am here today to emphasize the return of state institutions to work," and he added that they would serve to support the steadfastness of Nabatieh residents. Salam launched 23 bids by the Council for Development and Reconstruction in the Nabatieh District, including projects removing obstacles, repairing roads, rehabilitating shelter centers, providing ambulances and medical devices, and wireless and satellite communication devices.
Salam also said the council would launch 12 additional bids this month, including renovating five hospitals, including Nabatieh Government Hospital, and supplying rescue and firefighting vehicles. Interior and Municipal Affairs Minister Ahmed al-Hajjar confirmed that "the state is with the people of the south," and he said the state’s absolute priority was the liberation of the south and the restoration of state sovereignty through security forces.
Funding limits and political stakes
Nawaf Salam acknowledged in Nabatieh that the scale of the crisis includes destruction, displacement, and loss of livelihoods, while he said the scale of the needs exceeds the capacities of the Lebanese state and its ability to bear these burdens alone. Salam said, "We still need significant funding" for reconstruction, and he added that he was returning to Nabatieh to affirm that the government’s commitment to the people of the south and Nabatieh has not and will not change. Salam rejected waiting for a major regional settlement, saying, "To say that we can wait for a major regional settlement is, for me, not an option for Lebanon," because such a settlement may come or may not come, or may be delayed for years.
Salam linked reconstruction to a broader institutional project, including restoring government institutions to work and pursuing a state capable and effective with one army and one decision, especially on war and peace. The stakes in the reconstruction push included preventing a new war or new pretexts for attacking Lebanon, as Salam said the path forward was meant to avoid finding Lebanon facing "a new war, or new pretexts for attacking Lebanon, or a new expansion of occupation."