UNESCO and Italy Sign Agreement To Restore Railway Station

On Monday, UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)and Italy reached a deal on recovery of the industrial heritage site, in which parts of the damaged Beirut Railway Station in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of the Lebanese capital will soon be restored with foreign funding.

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According to an official statement from UNESCO, under the deal, the Italian government will finance 2 million euros (about 2.21 million U.S. dollars) through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, a public agency, for the recovery work.

The director of UNESCO's Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut, Costanza Farina, said that "the initiative is a testament to our joint commitment to improve the livability of Beirut and strategically contribute to its revitalization."

"As a space open to the public, the project will support the social and cultural participation of all people, with particular attention to the most vulnerable at times of severe socio-economic challenges in the country," Farina said.

Moreover, UNESCO also said that it will preserve the original function of the site and its cultural value and authenticity, according to the statement.

UNESCO also said that, the station (built in 1894) was abandoned during the Lebanese civil war, and in 2020 was hit by explosions in the port of Beirut.

Several reports state that the restoration includes two connected projects, with one public green space to be built by UN-Habitat inside the 10,000 square meters of the railway station area.