Hariri planning to replicate Solidere in Tripoli

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said that Future Movement leader Saad Hariri is considering following the example set by his father, former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, by redeveloping Tripoli’s Syria Street – the center of much of the northern city’s violence.

“I learnt from Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas that Hariri is thinking seriously about making Syria Street a model street,” Rifi told Future TV on Sunday.

“[The project would resemble] what Rafiq Hariri made out of the [Green Line] in Beirut: Solidere, an artistic masterpiece of which we are proud.”

He added: “Likewise, we shall see Syria Street become an artistic masterpiece of which we are proud at the hands of Saad Hariri. The people will forget the periods of military conflict, fighting, shelling, and mortar fire.”

After central Beirut suffered massive damage during the civil war, a large scale project was launched to reconstruct downtown. In 1994, then Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri formed the joint-stock company Solidere to take charge of planning and redevelopment.

The area is often referred to simply as “Solidere”.

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