BEIRUT: Local merchants in Tyre have signed a petition demanding the halt of the Cultural Heritage and Urban Development project at the city’s old port.

The National News Agency reported that two delegations representing businessmen’s groups delivered the petition to MP Ali Khreis to protest the project, which is being funded by the World Bank and the Council for Development and Reconstruction.

The project has entered its second stage and aims to connect the ruins of the Triumphal Arch of Tyre, located in the neighborhood of Bass, with the rest of the city in order for visitors to move around on foot. Part of Serail Street, near the port, would become pedestrian-only.

Parking meters are also set to be installed.