Officials in Lattakia governorate have talked about the governorate’s intention to demolish private cabins in Ras al-Bassit beach in Lattakia due to violations of licenses granted at the site of the “809” property in the al-Dafla real estate zone.

The director of regional planning and decision support in Lattakia governorate, Ayham Kahila, said to the local newspaper Al-Watan on 11 September, that during December 2019, Lattakia governorate inventoried all the facilities on the beach, within the administrative boundaries of the al-Bassit municipality, by a relevant committee.

Kahila added, the investor has obtained a license from the relevant parties on the site of the real estate “809” in the al-Dafla area to repair old cabins on the beach; however, the inventory revealed that the work carried out was a complete demolition and reconstruction of wooden huts.

The regional planning director continued saying, some of these huts had two floors, which violates the granted license, besides the investor’s intention to add new cabins to the site.

Kahila pointed out that the governorate referred the matter for investigation to the Central Commission for Inspection and Control and one of the police authorities. This came after the governorate directed the al-Bassit municipality to stop all building works (pending the outcome of the investigations).

Kahila clarified that about a week ago, the governorate was informed that construction works were carried out on the site before the inspection report was issued.

He pointed out that the governorate will compare the inventory performed in December 2019 to what is today on the ground and remove any cabins or facilities added to the mentioned inventory.

Moreover, some private companies and the Syrian Ministry of Tourism plan to establish wooden bungalows in the open beaches of Lattakia governorate for summer vacationing on the Syrian shores.

Besides, the Ministry of Tourism has placed several sites in Lattakia and Tartus governorates to invest them as open beaches and provide job opportunities through equipping the two regions with restaurants, market stalls, and cabins for relaxation only.