World Bank imposes conditions on Lebanon’s access to electricity financing | – #World #Bank #imposes #conditions #Lebanons #access #electricity #financing
BEIRUT, March 14 (Reuters) – Lebanon’s regional vice president Ferid Belhaj said on Tuesday that the World Bank has outdated among other reforms it has called for, it must also audit the state electricity company before reviewing the financing of the electricity sector.
Public electricity supply in Lebanon has been poor since the country’s 1975-90 civil war, but has worsened in the past three years as the financial crisis has weakened the government’s ability to provide fuel.
Lebanon is hoping for funding from the World Bank, but Belhaj told the country’s interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, that Lebanon still needs to audit Electricity du Liban (EDL), activate a newly announced regulator and collect supply costs. way must restore with The office did not receive comments from the Prime Minister.
“These are the three conditions, and if they are fulfilled, the World Bank is ready to reconsider the issue of financing the electricity sector in Lebanon,” Belhaj was quoted as saying in the report.
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Electricity from Jordan through the country Syria and natural from Egypt gas has signed contracts to buy, which will add up to 700 megawatts of power to the country’s power grid, increasing power supply by several hours.
The World Bank has agreed to finance contracts in Lebanon if long-awaited reforms in the energy sector are implemented.
State-owned power plants are almost completely offline, and fuel subsidy cuts have caused private generators’ operating costs to skyrocket.
Human Rights Watch said last week that decades of neglect, mismanagement and alleged corruption have put power in Lebanon out of reach for many — which in turn has exacerbated poverty and forced people to flee. foodhas made access to water and health services difficult.
Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Edited by Josie Kao
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2023-03-14 20:51:48
Source – reuters
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