Under the guidance of UN-Habitat Lebanon, and as part of the emergency response to the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, IBI Group was commissioned to provide technical oversight and testing services for the Rubble to Mountains initiative, a project aimed at reusing construction and demolition waste (CDW) in environmentally sustainable urban-restoration developments.

The Port of Beirut explosions (4 August 2020) resulted in extensive damage on multiple levels – the loss of life, injury and the destruction of vast tracts of urban fabric within the municipal boundaries of Bourj Hammoud. In support of the Municipality of Bourj Hammoud, UN-Habitat together with the Polish Center for International Aid, Naba’a and Beirut Arab University, undertook a rapid damage assessment at the building level (exterior visual survey).

The Port of Beirut explosions (4 August 2020) resulted in extensive damage on multiple levels – the loss of life, injury and the destruction of vast tracts of urban fabric within the municipal boundaries of Beirut. Led by the Municipality and Governor of Beirut, UN-Habitat supported a rapid damage assessment at the building level (exterior visual survey).

Local authorities have played a major role to curtail COVID-19, particularly in vulnerable urban settings, while maintaining critical services.
To identify problems and suggest solutions, UN-Habitat assessed 34 Unions of Municipalities and 5 individual municipalities, covering 52 per cent of Lebanese municipalities. The report highlights key urban challenges and proposes several mitigating measures.