The World Bank estimated that Lebanon will need $11 billion for economic recovery and reconstruction from the conflict with Israel, according to a report by the Lebanon Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA).
An estimated $3 to $5 billion of the $11 billion required for restoration and recovery will require public funding, including $1 billion for the infrastructure sectors (electricity, public and municipal services, transportation, and water, wastewater, and irrigation).
Private funding, meanwhile, would be needed for $6 to $8 billion, primarily for housing, business, manufacturing, and tourism.
The needs estimates are supported by the report’s assessment of the conflict’s economic cost to Lebanon, which comes to $14 billion, including $6.8 billion in physical structural damage and $7.2 billion in economic losses from lost revenue, decreased productivity, and operational expenses, according to the report.
“Housing has been the hardest hit sector with damages estimated at $4.6 billion,” it said.
With damages estimated at $3.4 billion nationwide, the commerce, industrial, and tourist sectors have also been severely affected.
Lebanon’s gross domestic product (GDP) was also affected, posting a 7.1% fall in 2024, reversing a 0.9% growth before the conflict.
“By the end of 2024, Lebanon’s cumulative GDP decline since 2019 approached 40%, compounding the effects of the multi-pronged economic downturn and impacting Lebanon’s prospects for economic growth,” it added.
After months of cross-border fighting between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, that turned into a full-scale battle in September last year, a tenuous truce has been in effect in Lebanon since November 27.
Nearly 1,100 violations by Israel of the ceasefire deal have been documented by Lebanese authorities, with at least 84 victims killed and more than 280 injured. (Anadolu)