MIDDLE EAST: With the tenuous ceasefire still holding, Lebanese government ministers met yesterday to begin the laborious process of estimating civilian damage caused by a month of Israeli bombing.
While the fighting continued, officials were unable to visit many of the bomb sites and a total figure is not expected until next week, but it will certainly run to billions of dollars.
The Centre for Economic Research in Beirut predicts repair and reconstruction costs will rise above €5.5 billion. The biggest cost will be for repairs to roads, bridges, ports and airports, recently estimated at €317 million.
More than 94 roads and 70 bridges were bombed by the Israelis. Other government repair costs include power supplies €163 million, telecoms €77 million), water €58 million and military installations €12.5 million.
The number of homes destroyed is still unclear, but Hizbullah says more than 15,000 dwellings have been completely destroyed and many more damaged. Another estimate is that 10,000 homes will need rebuilding or repairing.
More than 900 small and medium-sized businesses have been destroyed, according to officials quoted by the Beirut Daily Star. These include more than 300 shops and businesses that have been wiped out in the capital's heavily-bombed southern suburbs. "Nearly all shops and establishments in all the villages in the south that are close to the Israeli border received direct hits from the artillery and planes," one merchant told the paper.
Some larger businesses were also wrecked, including the biggest milk processing factory in the Bekaa valley and a warehouse for Procter & Gamble products.
Lebanon's economy had been expected to grow by 5 to 6 per cent this year, but revised estimates now put growth between zero and 3 per cent.
The country is also facing an environmental crisis, the UN says. Some 10,000-15,000 tonnes of fuel oil leaked on the coast after Israeli bombers hit the Jiyyeh power station south of Beirut.