A free zone is to be established in the Beirut harbor, according to an official announcement by the French Haut Commissariat.
After the zone is completed, great reductions in duties on transit goods will be introduced in order to facilitate export trade.
The Syrian center, which was constituted in 1888 and stretches along the seacoast from Jebel el-Akra, south of the Orontes to the Nahr Zerka, south of Mount Carmel, has been until the completion of the Haifa harbor the most important seaport on the coast.
Beirut has increased in extent and has become the center of trade for all of southern Syria. In 1894 a harbor was constructed by a French company.
Recently the opening of the Haifa harbor, with its modern facilities, evoked fear on the part of merchants in Beirut that much of their trade would be deflected to Haifa Bay. As a result measures were considered which would prevent such a contingency.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
