Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh signed a decree this morning officially adding the Beirut port grain silos to Lebanon’s General Inventory of Historic Buildings. The decision comes in response to a formal request submitted by the families of the victims of the August 4, 2020, explosion.
The classification follows repeated calls to preserve the remaining silos as a tangible witness to one of the worst disasters in Lebanon’s recent history, which killed more than 200 people and devastated the capital.
Salameh stressed that the goal is “to protect the silos from any demolition decision and to reinforce their symbolic value in Lebanon’s collective memory,” affirming the ministry’s support for the families in their pursuit of truth, justice and the preservation of the crime scene.
Under this decree, the silos are now protected by laws governing architectural heritage. Any alteration or demolition will require prior approval from the Ministry of Culture, which grants them the status of a “site of special historical and national significance.”
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