Beirut’s Blast-Hit Silos Must Be Demolished, Experts Warn

Date: 06 April 2021 - 21:46

News ID: ۸۸۸۹۶

BEIRUT (AFP) — A section of the grain silos that absorbed much of last year’s Beirut port blast must be demolished to avoid collapse, experts warned in a report published Monday.
Swiss company Amann Engineering, which has offered laser scanning assistance to Lebanon since the cataclysmic August 4 explosion, called the most damaged of the disemboweled silos an "unstable, moving structure.”
"Our recommendation is to proceed with the deconstruction of this block,” the company said in a report.
"As it becomes more obvious the concrete piles have been heavily damaged... new silos will have to be built at a different location,” it warned.
Economy minister Raoul Nehme had said in November that Lebanon will demolish its largest grain store over public safety concerns, but authorities have yet to take action.
Once boasting a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, the imposing 48-meter-high structure has become emblematic of the catastrophic port blast that killed more than 200 people and damaged swathes of the capital.