Coordinator of the Anti-Corruption Monitor and member of the Kataeb party's politburo, Charles Saba, described the Beirut Port as a corruption hub, stressing the need for a regulatory legal framework that would manage the facility's work.

In an interview on Voice of Lebanon radio station, Saba explained that the problem had started in 1992 when the government assigned a provisional committee to run the port instead of privatizing it through a global tender or establishing a public institution to take charge.

Saba said that the work of the provisional committee is not subject to any regulatory law and does not fall under the authority of the Central Inspection Bureau like other public administrations, adding that only 75 percent of the port's revenues are transferred to the state treasury and that the head of the committee receives a yearly 15-month salary of $33,000.

"The solution lies in setting out a regulatory and legal framework for Beirut Port," he said, calling for lifting bank secrecy off the facility's officials.

"A regulatory body that would supervise the ports of Tripoli, Jounieh, Sidon and Tyre must be formed in order to assess the points of strength of each facility and, accordingly, set out a development strategy."