Hariri Promises Projects in Electoral Visit to Hometown Sidon

Prime Minister and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on Wednesday promised to execute developmental projects in his hometown Sidon, as he paid an electoral campaigning visit to the southern city.

“Sidon is loyal to its moderation, patriotism, Arab identity and all Arab causes. It is loyal to the cause of Palestine and the rights of the Palestinians, topped by the right to return to the state of Palestine and its capital Jerusalem,” Hariri said at a huge rally in the city.

“Sidon and its people deserve that we work for them and for their children, in order to find jobs for young men and women,” Hariri added.

The premier hailed three Sidon figures, MPs Fouad Saniora and Bahia Hariri and municipal chief Mohammed al-Saudi, saying they “made grand achievements in Sidon throughout the past years.”

“Their achievements truly call for pride and raise Sidon's level, from the waste treatment plant to the removal of the 'garbage mountain' and turning it into a public park to improving the port, of which the first phase has been completed and the second will be completed within two years,” Hariri said.

He added that the funding for the port project as well as for the fishermen harbor “has been secured from the investment program.”

“The Turkish hospital has become ready and we will soon appoint a board of directors to begin operating it. The port will also have a new board of directors,” Hariri went on to say.

And describing Sidon's future as “promising,” Hariri noted that the southern port city can become a “strategic platform for the firms that will explore oil and gas off its coast.”