Bassil: Power-Generating Ships' Arrival Delayed over Govt. Failure to Meet their Costs
Energy Minister Jebran Bassil announced on Saturday that the arrival of the power-generating ships to Lebanon from Turkey has been delayed, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.
He explained that the government has failed to provide the cost of acquiring the ships.
He attributed the delay to “administrative reasons.”
The minister had signed in July a three-year contract to lease power-generating vessels from Turkey’s Karadeniz company.
The first ship was expected to arrive in Lebanon on November 11.
Head of the parliamentary energy committee MP Mohammed Qabbani criticized the delay, saying that Bassil had acted in an “unscientific manner” and that he had refused to turn to loans that would have helped provide the cost of the ships at low interest rates.
The cabinet had agreed in March to lease power-generating vessels that would help provide 700 megawatts of electricity for a period of three years.
Lebanon’s daily energy need is 2,300 megawatts, while its current power plants only provide it with 1,500.
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