The newly elected president of the Order of Engineers and Architects has downplayed concerns that many buildings in Beirut are at risk of collapse, assuring the public that there is “no need for concern.”
Speaking to The Daily Star from the order’s headquarters in Bir Hassan, Sobhi Bsat said that despite news in the media of building collapses, those incidents remain isolated.
Bsat was the opposition-backed candidate in elections last month where he emerged victorious following a tight race against rival Bilal Hamad, who was backed by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
During his election campaign, Bsat raised considerable opposition to the government’s public safety record, and particularly a draft law on building safety that has been prepared and awaits Cabinet approval.
“We are not against public safety,” Bsat said. “On the contrary, we are calling for it. But you cannot impose something before paving the way for its implementation,” he said.
Bsat complained that the draft law favors foreign-based or -trained engineers and leaves the issue of public safety vague.
“We are against the mechanism set down by the decree,” he said. “It makes it necessary for (Lebanese) safety inspectors to get their permits from the United States, Europe and Canada, despite the fact that Lebanese architects are highly qualified,” Bsat said.
Bsat proposed that there be a transitional period to give local engineers the opportunity to gain the necessary experience and adopt a comprehensive locally developed safety code, and not to continue to rely on standards taken from “here and there.” According to Bsat, the Order of Engineers and Architects has donated over LL400 million for that purpose over the past two years to the Lebanese Standards Organization, or Libnor, to help it draft standards for new buildings.
As for existing buildings, Bsat said those most at risk are the ones built during the chaotic 1975-1990 civil war, where the state was unable to keep track of construction activities.
“But anything built beyond this period should be relatively safe,” he said.
The most important element in ensuring compliance with safety standards involves allowing an engineer to supervise the building process, said Bsat.
“If the engineer who was responsible for laying out the plans supervises the building process, then there is nothing to fear, but unfortunately, the law doesn’t make this mandatory,” he commented.
Other countries in the region have stricter safety and planning standards than Lebanon, according to Bsat, who put this down to tighter control by central governments and municipalities elsewhere.
Bsat said he was also concerned by a government proposal to privatize the process of awarding building licenses, which he contended would in effect leave the country without urban planning.
“Licensing rights should be the prerogative of the municipalities,” he said, adding that cities should be better equipped to handle such a task in accordance with a national plan that takes into consideration nature, the environment and future development needs.
“Municipalities in particular, and Lebanon’s public administration in general, have room for many more engineers ­ at least 700 ­ and they would be able to ensure a proper licensing mechanism,” he said.
“If licensing rights were given to private firms, we’re afraid that such businesses would turn around and favor only those affiliated with the same political parties … we would see favoritism prevail, as with everything else in this country,” he added.
Beyond public safety and urban planning, however, Bsat said his main concern was for engineers and architects, many of whom he said were either underpaid or unemployed. He called for the government to stop issuing licenses randomly to the many universities mushrooming in the country.
“University licenses should be granted according to a comprehensive economic plan that assesses how many people are needed for a job. But how can they tell how many engineers or architects are needed before coming up with such a plan?” he added.

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