Miqati Urges Cabinet to ‘Invest’ in Chance Given by Vote of Confidence

Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed relief for the opportunity that was given to his cabinet to prove itself once again by the vote of confidence, As Safir newspaper reported on Monday.

“I will exert all efforts to invest in this opportunity to achieve the demands of the Lebanese people,” he told the daily.

He urged all ministers to become more productive.

On Thursday, the cabinet survived a vote of confidence with 63 MPs granting it a vote of confidence at the end of a three-day parliament session to assess its performance.

Concerning the leasing of the Turkish power-generating vessels, the premier said that a primary agreement has been set with the Turkish company Karadeniz.

However, Miqati said that there are several points that need to be examined thoroughly before signing the deal.

He noted that the Lebanese government is seeking to reach a deal that would benefit it, saying that the “devil is in the details.”

The cabinet agreed in April to lease two Turkish power-generating vessels after slashing the costs by nine percent in order to rehabilitate Jiyyeh and Zouk power plants and build one or two new ones to resolve Lebanon’s lingering electricity crisis.

The two Turkish ships will have a capacity of 270 megawatts.

Lebanon has long suffered from electricity outages because of shortages at its power plants whose maximum capacity is less than 1,500 megawatts but the country’s actual need exceeds 2,300 megawatts.

Miqati is scheduled to head to Brussels on Wednesday on an official visit to meet with senior officials.