Tycoon's plans for Lebanese 3Mt cement plant back on

Pierre Fattouche, a businessman with interestes in Armenia and South Sudan, wants to build a 3Mta cement plant in Lebanon to export cement to Syria. The proposed site is in Ain Dara where a group of activists have been trying to block plans for the plant over concerns of underground water reserves and air pollution.

The permit for the cement plant was awarded in 2015, but political tensions over the plant have delayed any construction. Ain Dara is located in a Druze majority region and the community leaders oppose the plant's construction. While the plant's permit was cancelled in March 2019, the decision has since been revoked and Mr Fattouche again has the green light to try and start construction.