Beirut Digital District (BDD) is a built community dedicated to creating a hub for the digital and creative industries in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. It was officially launched in September 2012 in the Bachoura district of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

as a government facilitated project established between ZRE s.a.l. (a private real-estate company), Berytech (an incubator accelerator for the development of startups in the ICT field), and The Ministry of Telecommunications, who acted as a facilitator and provided broadband internet and telephone infrastructure.

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

’s Andrew Stevens called BDD the powerhouse for startups in the Middle East.

Location

Beirut Digital District is located in the Bachoura district, the center of Beirut City, Lebanon. BDD is close to the airport and seaport, about 5 minutes away from downtown, and minutes away from

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

, Lebanese American University,

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut ( French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', abbreviated to and commonly known as "USJ") is a private Catholic research university located in Beirut, Lebanon, which was founded in 1875 by French Jesuit mis ...

, École Supérieure des Affaires, and Sagesse University.

Facilities

There are multiple amenities and services provided by Beirut Digital District: * Conference and meeting rooms and audio-conference rooms * Events and workshop spaces * Gym and fitness classes * Eatery and coffee shop * Fiber optics and Wi-Fi * Parking spaces and valet services * HR services * Business and legal setup services

Phases

The development of Beirut Digital District has been separated into 4 phases:

Phase A

The first phase was completed in 2016. In this phase, the total build up area of BDD is 17,500 square meters dedicated to office spaces.

Phase B

This phase was completed in 2022 where BDD became a 44,500 square meter district dedicated to office spaces, with the introduction of the offices of the future in the latest two buildings.

Phase C

This phase makes BDD an 84,000 square meter district dedicated to office spaces and residential units and is due completion in 2025.

Phase D

The last phase, to be completed in 2030, will transform BDD into a 150,000 square meter district with multiple offices and residential units.

References

{{Reflist Beirut