Environment Minister in the caretaker government, Nasser Yassin, wrote on the platform "X": "72 km of sewage networks have been completed over the past 12 months in the areas of Bourj, Marjaayoun, Makssa, Qab Elias, Jedita, Chtaura, and Talbaya as an important part of the project to reduce pollution in the Litani River and Qaraoun Lake, funded by the World Bank, which had been halted for several years. We negotiated with colleagues in the government and the concerned administrations at the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the National Authority for the Litani River, along with World Bank officials, and succeeded last year in preventing the project from being halted under the pretext of no serious work being carried out since the project's approval in 2016.
The works continue to complete the networks in the Central Bekaa (Axis 1 has completed 48 km out of 71, and Axis 2 has completed 24 out of 86) and connect them to the treatment plant in the Al-Nasiriya area, where construction work has begun with funding from the Italian government." He added: "Work is also ongoing to complete the network in the Zahle area as part of the World Bank project. In the Western Bekaa, efforts are underway to announce a tender for the contracting of 6 pumping stations in Qaraoun and Baaloul and to expand the current station in Qaraoun. The seven stations will pump wastewater to the treatment plant in Aitunet/Qaraoun Dam. This important station covers the towns of Mashghara, Aitunet, Baaloul, and Qaraoun, for which we opened a rehabilitation project yesterday, including additional sections for sludge treatment, funded by the United States Agency for International Development. I will continue in the coming days to expedite the construction of the treatment plant in Nasiriya, as well as the networks in other areas like Bar Elias, Majdal Anjar, and the towns of the plain, among others.
I will also ensure the continued operation of the treatment plant in Jeb Jannine, which UNICEF will support for operation and maintenance over the next two years in cooperation with the Bekaa Water Authority. Serious work has been undertaken at the level of the Bekaa Governorate over the past 12 months, and it will continue in 2024, so that for the first time, after years of the enactment of Law 63 (2016), we have made serious strides in addressing pollution sources in the river and lake, following the solid waste management plan in the Bekaa."
