ISRAEL'S 16 day war against the Hizbullah guerillas has cost Lebanon $500 million and is likely to knock national growth back by two points, Lebanese economists said yesterday.
Mr Riad Salameh, governor of the central bank, said: "Lebanon, which was counting on a growth rate of 6 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1996, is likely to lose two points because of the Israeli operation."
The GDP was estimated at $11.5 billion in 1995.
"Damage to houses, roads and electricity infrastructure, the slowing down of the economy, the displacement of more than 300,000 inhabitants and the delay to public and private projects will cost some $500 million," according to Mr Marwan Iskandar, head of an economic studies bureau.
"The bill from the destruction of homes, bridges, roads, water pumping stations and the electricity network in south Lebanon alone is estimated at $100 million", he said.
Two power stations near Beirut, damaged in the Israeli attacks, will cost $40 million to repair, according to French experts sent to evaluate the damage.
Mr Iskandar said the Israeli onslaught also cost $260 million in lost earnings, especially in the service and agriculture sectors.
Delays to public and private infrastructure projects have cost $75 million, he said, and the displacement of 300,000 refugees from the war zone in south Lebanon has cost another $30 million.
Mr Iskandar's estimates do not include the compensation and medical care the Lebanese government will pay out to victims.
The Israeli Grapes of Wrath operation left 170 dead and .350 wounded in Lebanon, mostly civilians, before a mainly US brokered ceasefire came into force on Saturday.
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