Al-Habtoor is considering dividing the 185-room Metropolitan Palace Hotel into pieces and shipping the parts by sea out of Lebanon, possibly to neighbouring Syria or through it, according to a video published on X at the weekend.
Al-Habtoor discussed the plan with aides and an engineer from state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation and said that he believes the idea is feasible, according to the video.
“This morning, I met with the engineering team at #AlHabtoorGroup, along with our consultants and the Chinese contracting company at #AlHabtoorCity, to study the relocation of a building we own from one country to another,” Al-Habtoor said.
“I am pleased that the study has been completed, and the results are very promising. I am excited to see this challenging idea transform into reality very soon, God willing,” he said.
An engineer, identified only as Salamah, said the plan includes slicing the 15-storey hotel into pieces and transporting them to Beirut port, where they will then be shipped abroad.
He said similar exercises had previously been conducted successfully in China and Japan.
In January Al-Habtoor said he was launching a legal claim against the Lebanese government, accusing the authorities of being in breach of a 1999 investment treaty with the UAE.
Al-Habtoor also said he plans to sell all his properties and investments in Lebanon, where he controls more than $1 billion in real estate, including a shopping mall and a theme park.
“This is not a mere property investment loss but a big slap to Lebanon’s reputation,” Lebanese journalist Tony Bolous said on X on Sunday.
“Al-Habtoor’s pullout means a big blow to confidence in Lebanon and to any hope of fully reviving the country’s wrecked economy.”
By Nadim Kawach
