"Noor International Holding", located in Beirut, declared its determination to present to the Lebanese official authorities the development of "Lebanon's Cedar Island" project facing the Lebanese coast in order to get the approvals. The company revealed also that the project is an artificial island in the sea and it is similar to Lebanon's national symbol. It is worth mentioning that this island will be the biggest artificial tree in the history.

This island will include service, entertaining, touristic, commercial and residential compounds characterized by a great luxuriousness that is in harmony with the modern lifestyle, in addition to the availability of the best accommodations. Moreover, the company mentioned that it will be the main developer of the project and that it has started its calls with many Lebanese investors residing in Lebanon and abroad, with Arabs and other investment parties.

The chairman of the board of directors in "Noor International Holding", Dr. Muhammad Saleh, declared that the project aims at reinforcing Lebanon's position as a pioneer touristic and investment figure at the international level and at attracting the visitors and the investors from all over the world to visit Lebanon. Furthermore, Dr. Saleh (the inventor of the project's idea) clarified that the company's board of directors visited some political leaders in order to get "the blessing" regarding the idea of the project's presentation and he confirmed that the idea was welcomed. The board of directors visited also the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL)Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), which is responsible for encouraging the investments in Lebanon, in order to start the authorization's procedures. Saleh expressed his hope for getting the official approval related to the project, in addition to the issuance of the necessary authorizations as soon as possible due to the serious interest of the investors in joining the giant "Cedar Island" project. Dr. Saleh added that the project will provide 50.000 job opportunities, clarifying that the company's strategy is to form alliances with the most important companies in this field in order to provide the best services in the project. In addition, he mentioned that more details will be announced about "Lebanon's Cedar Island" after getting the necessary approvals.

According to Dr. Saleh, it is expected that the accomplishment of this project will take 3 to 4 years after getting the specific authorizations and decrees from the competent Lebanese parties.

Dr. Saleh confirmed that the project, in its plans, takes into consideration the protection of the maritime environment without causing any damages to it due to the fact that some of the Island's parts will be the cedar's branches floating above the sea surface. He also mentioned that many investment companies showed their interest in investing in this project, among them are the Lebanese-Saudi Affairs Council, the Saudi based company Al Hokair Group for Tourism and Development, Qatarian and Bahraini companies and El Behbehani GroupEl Behbehani Group in Kuwait.

The company revealed that fst negotiations are taking place with several companies in order to present the consultative services and among these companies is the American company B.A. specialized in the water projects worldwide. In order to carry out construction works related to the project, the company made contracts with the biggest universal companies such as Panasonic CorporationPanasonic Corporation, the universal Chinese Hawawi Corporation, the British Homes Express Corporation specialized in the real estate marketing and Navy International Group specialized in controlling the environmental pollution. Thus, "Noor International Holding" prepared a universal alliance in the field of engineering, construction, marketing, administration and environmental and economic studies and it formed a giant structure in order to carry out this special project.

It is worth mentioning that CP Company, one of Noor International HoldingNoor International Holding's companies, got a work of art and literature registration certificate, holding No. 4125, on 28th February 2008, issuance No. 1515. This certificate is issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Economy - the Department of the intellectual property's protection in Lebanon.

24 January 2009

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20090124115750