Among the registered proprietors of state property is the central bank, Banque du Liban (BDL), which owns a vast portfolio of 1,037 plots of unbuilt state property. BDL owns full shares in some of these properties, and partial shares in others, bringing the total surface area BDL owns in Lebanon to 43 million square meters — not counting the bank’s share in the vast properties owned by Intra Investment Company. BDL’s properties are distributed unevenly across districts. In terms of numbers, there is a notable concentration in Akkar, where the town of Saidnaya alone houses 250 BDL properties, and in Zgharta where the town of Hilan alone holds 189 properties. Batroun and Chouf are other points of concentration. In terms of surface area, Baalbek District hosts the largest surface of BDL land followed by Tyre district. Of note is the extent to which BDL dominates property ownership in some towns, especially border towns. By way of example, BDL real estate constitutes 51 percent of Tufail (Baalbek). Also, a single BDL property in Ras Baalbek (Hermel) is approximately 1 million square meters.
