FINANCIAL NEWS

Lebanon outlines $5b power investment

08 Jul 2010

(MENAFN) Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil has unveiled a $5 billion plan to overhaul its decaying power sector and provide it with 24-hour electricity in four years, Reuters reported.

According to the minister, Lebanon’s electricity sector is saddled with old power plants, insufficient infrastructure and inefficient supply lines.The loss-making sector adds $1.5 billion to the budget deficit annually, and the cost to the wider economy from poor power supply is at least $2.5 billion.

Bassil said the plan calls for the production of 4,000 megawatts of electricity by 2014 at a total cost of $4.87 billion. The government will provide $1.5 billion, the private sector $2.32 billion and international donors will contribute $1 billion.

The state-owned Electricite du Liban can only meet two-thirds of peak demand of 1,650 megawatts, which means the average supply of electricity per day is 18 hours, said a report by Gulf Daily News.

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