Why are Lebanon's buildings falling apart?

Why are Lebanon’s buildings falling apart?

My enterprise story from today’s paper. It was really interesting to speak to building engineers, I learned a lot about construction.

BEIRUT:Thousands of buildings and bridges in this country are falling apart.

A seven-story apartment building collapsed in Beirut last week and other structures are being evacuated and pulled down before they deteriorate entirely. But why?

Why are the country’s buildings and bridges so decrepit that their residents are at risk? Why is Lebanon a crumbling country?

Towering over skylines across the world are buildings built in the same way; with concrete. Their frameworks of steel rebar reinforcing hardened mixtures of sand, cement and water climb hundreds of feet into the sky.

The difference, say local and international building engineers, comes down to one thing: neglect. Neglect of maintenance and building standards is cutting the lives of the nation’s buildings and infrastructure disturbingly short.

“We don’t employ routine maintenance, we tend to react. Other countries inspect and take action.” says Zaher Yahya, a Lebanese project manager and civil engineer based in London.