There have been, since the deadly port explosion, continuous efforts to rebuild the damaged and destroyed houses in Beirut from NGOs, volunteers, and various countries.
Now, the Banque de l’Habitat, Lebanon’s housing bank, will start issuing soft loans intended to help rebuild and rehabilitate the residences that were damaged by the Beirut Port explosion.
The housing bank will dedicate “very soft loans in Lebanese pounds dedicated exclusively to the restoration, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of housing damaged by the port explosion on August 4th, 2020, so that they become suitable for use again,” stated its CEO, Joseph Sassine.
In addition, the Banque de l’Habitat is issuing loans in national currency to assist people who want to buy or build new housing units.
Sassine noted “the huge value of the funding needed to rehabilitate [the damaged houses], which far exceeds the value of local and international aid, not to mention the humanitarian tragedy resulting from the displacement of thousands of families.”
With that said, the housing bank is allocating 60 billion Lebanese pounds from its private funds, immediately, to finance medium-term loans for the restoration and rehabilitation of houses damaged by the blast.
Notably, these loans are subject to the following conditions:
- The maximum limit for each loan is set at 150 million Lebanese pounds.
- Interest applies at a rate of 3% annually.
- The maximum repayment period is 15 years.
People who wish to obtain a loan for the aforementioned purpose are required to visit one of the housing bank’s branches listed below, with the proof documents for damages to fill the necessary applications:
Beirut (headquarters), Raouche, Daoura, Tripoli, Saida, and Zahle.
