Batroun municipality sells a public road and blocks access to the beach

After reviewing maps, municipal decisions, and official documents, the environmental organization TERRE Liban revealed that a 1,630-square-metre public road near Al Helweh Beach in Batroun was reclassified as “surplus road land,” transferred from the public domain to the municipality’s private property, then sold and incorporated into privately owned plots for commercial use. This resulted in the closure of a key passage used by the public to reach the sea.

The organization raised legal concerns over these measures, explaining that removing a property from the public domain and converting it into private municipal property requires a Cabinet decree, while its sale requires approval from the Court of Audit. It also cited a legal opinion issued by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in July 2025 affirming the public’s right to access the beach through the pathways leading to it, regardless of whether the sale itself was valid.

The case extends beyond Al Helweh Beach. TERRE Liban uncovered another case dating back nearly 20 years, in which more than 3,000 square metres of public roads were classified as “surplus road land” for the benefit of a tourism project, cutting off access to approximately 6,000 square metres of public maritime property.

TERRE Liban called for a comprehensive investigation into the municipal decisions and sales, the disclosure of the beneficiaries’ identities and the prices paid, verification that all required legal and regulatory approvals were obtained, and the restoration of any public rights found to have been unlawfully transferred.

The case highlights the fate of public roads leading to Lebanon’s beaches and the public’s right to access the sea, amid the conversion of land designated for public use into private property and commercial and tourism projects, according to the documents presented by the organization.