BEIRUT -- Ancient history is getting in the way of construction in Beirut's building boom as new archaeological discoveries delay the long-planned high rises.
And the delays can be long, frustrating and expensive.
The historic find prompted the culture minister to send an official letter to the developer saying the land was of "national heritage value" -- effectively freezing the project.
I do not understand the logic of making a developer pay, both in project delays and up-front cash money for archaeology. We should be thankful for the developer discovering the site in the first place (I realise this isn’t always the case).
I don’t know how various countries deal with this issue (any info gratefully received) but I would guess that even if cash money is not paid out then developers almost always suffer from enforced delays.
Who wants archaeo-heritage anyway? Developers probably couldn’t care less - why should they? No, the demand for it comes from the “community” in the form of a handful of 'concerned' parties (professional or otherwise) and politicians who are scared of being seen as heritage vandals. The public, on whose alleged behalf all this is going on, may express an interest and a sentimental affection for heritage but who, if they were asked to pay for it up-front (not hidden in other taxes), probably couldn’t care less either.
Given that it is sacrilege to criticise archaeo-heritage then we should put our money where our mouth is and fully compensate developers. That would at least focus minds.