Kuwait-funded Harbta hospital breaks ground in Baalbek-Hermel after years of delay

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine laid the foundation stone on Saturday for the Harbta Government Hospital in Baalbek-Hermel, a project worth about 4 million dollars financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development through a grant from the State of Kuwait, Daily Beirut reported. The Council for Development and Reconstruction will oversee construction.

The hospital is planned with 15 beds, an emergency department, intensive care units and radiology and surgery departments. The ministry will provide the operating budget once it is built, and similar public hospitals are expected soon in Akkar al-Sahel and Deir el-Qamar, the report said.

The project had stalled for lack of financing after being launched under former ministers Hamad Hassan and Firas Abiad. Nassereddine said the stone was laid only “after securing funding”, following efforts to redirect unused money.

Kuwait’s ambassador, Mohammed Sultan al-Sharji, said the hospital reflected his country’s “humanitarian message and its commitment to healthcare”. MP Ghazi Zaiter, representing Speaker Nabih Berri, called it a step toward widening the health network in a region long underserved. CDR president Mohammad Kabbani said it would bring services closer to citizens and create jobs.

The account comes from a single publisher; no completion date was given.