Prior to the 1970s, the city of Tripoli and the Northern Lebanon region were a key economic hub, but in the last four decades the city suffered heavily under political instability, poor economic relations and interactions with the rest of the Lebanese regions, along with insufficient infrastructure projects and a weak business environment. To address this economic and social hindrance, the Lebanese government took in 2008 the decision to implement the Tripoli Special Economic Zone (TSEZ), the role of which was to speed up economic development in the region and to create jobs to reduce poverty. The establishment of the TSEZ was judged as an inventive way for attracting local and foreign investments, with the aim of developing business activities, creating jobs and generating exports. Local political and economic communities immediately embraced the project and international donors lined up to pledge support for this initiative. In 2014, the Lebanese army took the full control over Tripoli and restored security in all its areas, allowing a significant improvement of the investment climate including the revival of the TSEZ project and the nomination of its first Board Authority.

The study analyses Tripoli’s struggling economy and assesses the political, social and economic contexts that led to the creation of the TSEZ. Furthermore, it offers an overview of the TSEZ concept, its main features and characteristics, the different stages of the implementation process and main achievements, as well as TSEZ’s role as example and its national dimension. The analysis closes with a conclusion of the project and recommendations for the future.

The study consists of a project presentation and a project study and is available in English and Arabic.