Report: Russia Offers to Build Power Plant in Lebanon

Lebanon’s problematic electricity file is one of the government's focal issues amid reports claiming that a Russian proposal to build a power plant could end the suffering of Lebanese, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

Ministerial sources told the daily, the government is keen on finding a permanent solution and that Lebanon’s various political parties have adamantly vowed that there will be “no turning back.”

They said “a serious debate on finding a near solution for the electricity file has started, putting an end for dubious tenders adopted over the past years that wasted large amounts of treasury and were the main reason for the serious deficit it suffers.”

Well-informed sources said the Russian proposal aims to build a power plant that supplies Lebanon with 24/24 electricity.

“The plant can be established in a short period of time,” they said.

According to the sources, this offer includes willingness to build an atomic energy plant, similar to a plant built by the Russians in Turkey at no cost.

Lebanon suffers a severe shortage in electricity. The sector is a substantial drain on the state’s treasury.

According to the World Bank, it is responsible for 40 percent of Lebanon’s public deficit.