Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fi'ad, led a delegation of senior officials from the ministry on a tour in Akkar Governorate. He was welcomed in the main meeting hall at the Halba governmental complex by member of the "National Moderation" Bloc, MP Walid Ba'areen, Akkar Governor Imad Labaki, Secretary of Akkar Governorate Rola Al-Bayy'a, head of the civil organization in Akkar Hassan Al-Hajj, along with MPs Sajee' Atiyya, Muhammad Suleiman, Jimi Jabour, Ahmad Rustum, As'ad Dergham, Muhammad Yahya, and Khalid Barakat Ubayd, general manager of the North Lebanon Water Authority, along with other officials and municipal federation leaders.
The meeting focused on Akkar's needs for energy and water projects and ministry services, featuring interventions from MPs Ba'areen, Atiyya, and Dergham.
Fi'ad then visited the Diocese of Akkar in Halba and met with Bishop Basilios Mansour for a Easter greeting visit. He proceeded to the office of the Mufti of Akkar, Sheikh Zaid Muhammad Bakar Zakaria, at the Dar al-Iftaa in Halba, in the presence of the head of the Awqaf department Malik Jadida and MPs Jimi Jabour, As'ad Dergham, and Muhammad Suleiman. The meeting addressed the issues of Akkar and its natural resources and the potential for their utilization. Zakaria pointed out the wasted water resources throughout the year and called for prioritizing these factors, urging governmental measures to protect them as they are vital sources of life.
Fi'ad praised the youth of Akkar for their contributions to the region, promising that "mechanisms and plans will be put in place to preserve water resources in Akkar."
Additionally, in the town of Mas'udiyyah, Fi'ad congratulated the Alawite Mufti Sheikh Ali Qaddour for his election. He then moved to the hall in the town of Haysah, where he held a meeting with local figures, listening to the concerns and demands of local municipalities in the region.
Following his tour, Fi'ad announced that "Akkar has rights to the state," stating that after the ministry's budget improved somewhat, they committed to enhancing the situation of the Al-Bared hydropower plant and cleaning the course of the Great River, in addition to other projects collected from his tour that the ministry would work on in the coming period.
He held a press conference explaining the ministry's efforts in Akkar, noting that "the UNDP allocated $5 million for Akkar, which we will use to clean the course of the Great River and increase the turbines at the Al-Bared hydropower plant." He added, "We secured financial commitments for the southern Great River and the Al-Sultan River for cleaning only, not for establishing an earthen dam. In the budget, we allocated $45 million to improve conditions in the region and prevent natural disasters as occurred last year. We also conducted a bidding for river cleaning and successfully awarded a bid in Akkar to Al-Buroug Company, contributing funds to the state treasury."
Fi'ad emphasized that "coordination with the Syrian side is ongoing," adding that they would work regarding water and shared rivers, and that further coordination would take place to ensure that no one's interests come at the expense of another's. He mentioned sending "messages to the Syrian Water Minister regarding this matter and there will be a visit to Syria to follow up on issues of mutual interest."
