Kuwait has granted Lebanon a US$85mn loan to upgrade and rehabilitate the Zouk and Jiyyeh power plants as part of efforts to overhaul the Levant countrys ailing electricity sector
The agreement was signed by Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese energy and water minister, and Abdel-Wahab al-Bader, head of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
Bassil said, ?This is part of general plan to boost production by 1,500MW, and if this happens then Lebanon will enjoy 24 hours of electricity every day.?
According to the agreement, Lebanon can pay the debt off over the next 25 years with a low interest rate.
Lebanon is also expected to receive the first electricity barge from Turkey in a few weeks, while the second barge will arrive in less than two months. The two barges have a combined electricity production of 275MW.
The government is also expected to discuss this week the offers to build a power plant in Deir Ammar.
A handful of Lebanese and international firms are bidding for the Deir Ammar project after the energy ministry reduced the cost of the original project due to budgetary restraints.
