Time, or the lack of it, has become the prime factor in the construction of the Sports City complex in Bir Hasan. The new complex is due to host the Eighth Pan-Arab Games this summer, and the pressure is on the contracted British construction company, Trafalgar House, to complete the stadium by June 30, the deadline for the 22-month contract.

When prequalification bids for the project were originally invited, Trafalgar House submitted the lowest bid at $105m. The government eventually decided to split the project, however, and Trafalgar House was awarded a $49.6m contract to rebuild only the Sports City stadium, which was largely destroyed by Israeli bombing in 1982, an indoor arena, and a parking lot. For Trafalgar House the project is a make-or-break gamble: if the company is able to complete the stadium in time for the games then this could pave the way for further lucrative contracts in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East. If it fails, then this could adversely affect future contracts. Trafalgar House has admitted that work got underway slowly due to managerial difficulties with the local subcontractors. Others have suggested, however, that the company seriously underestimated the amount of design work necessary before construction could begin.

The Sports City project has also been affected by the reluctance of Arab states to pay their share of construction costs for the complex. In March, the minister of education and sports, Robert Ghanem, threatened that Lebanon would cancel its organization of the Pan-Arab games if promised funds were not forthcoming. He noted that Lebanon expected a total of $71m of which only $49m had been provided; of this sum, $23m was provided by Lebanon, $20m by Saudi Arabia, and $6m by Kuwait. Mr. Ghanem's threats are unlikely to be put into practice, however, since the cost to Lebanon's improved reputation would be prohibitive.

The games are intended to boost confidence in Lebanon and show that the country has returned to normality. Nevertheless, there has been some controversy that the $113m Sports City complex and an accompanying commercial center are merely costly prestige items of little merit at this stage to Lebanon's reconstruction program. Supporters of the project argue that while there is indeed a more pressing need for redevelopment in much of the area surrounding the site, reconstruction of the Sports City may help restore foreign investor confidence.

Both the Sports City project and the development of the Adnan al-Hakim avenue linking the complex to the coast lie at the northern boundary of the area of operations of Elissar, the company established to redevelop Beirut's southern suburbs. The Adnan al-Hakim avenue is being widened and its central strip will consist of boulevards and commercial and retail areas. Work has begun on an underground bus terminal beneath the avenue that will serve the whole of Lebanon. Originally, there was no intention to construct a terminal, but under pressure from the prime minister, Rafiq al-Hariri, the contractors, Laceco, incorporated the idea into their project.

The Sports City, the adjoining commercial center, and a redeveloped Adnan al-Hakim avenue, can be expected to play an important economic role in the future. In the past 20 years expansion south of Beirut has been blocked by two obstacles: the presence of Beirut International Airport and the struggle for political influence in and around the southern suburbs. More recently, disagreements between Amal and Hizballah, which hope to use Elissar as a source of patronage, led to a delay in the company's commencing operations. With development resuming, however, the government is hoping that local businesses will relocate to the commercial areas being developed on Adnan al-Hakim avenue. The scope of the area of redevelopment south of the capital remains unclear, however, Even the area of the Elissar project has apparently not yet been finalized: there are reports that Prime Minister Hariri is eager to see project expand to encompass the Cola district just south of Mazra'a, the city's main east-west thoroughfare.