Salam: Integrated Qatari Electricity Project Without Upfront Investment Cost to Treasury

At the conclusion of the official visit by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, to Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and his Qatari counterpart held a joint press conference at the Grand Serail. Salam began the press conference with a speech stating:

"Mr. Prime Minister, dear friend Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, welcome to Lebanon.

I am pleased to welcome you and your accompanying delegation today at the Grand Serail, and to thank you for this visit which we cherish, confirming the depth of brotherly relations binding our two countries and peoples.

First, I would like to express gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to you personally, and to the government and people of the State of Qatar, for their constant support of Lebanon, and for the political, economic, and humanitarian assistance they have provided and continue to provide, particularly to the Lebanese Army, state institutions, and the recovery path.

This support is not new for Qatar. The Lebanese do not forget its stance alongside them during the most difficult stages their country has passed through, especially its contribution to rebuilding what was destroyed in the 2006 war, nor do they forget its role in supporting stability in Lebanon, backing its institutions, and helping its people overcome successive hardships.

Today, we highly appreciate the positions of the State of Qatar supporting Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and stability, and supporting our efforts aimed at achieving the complete Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territories, and extending the authority of the Lebanese state over all its lands solely through its own forces.

Since assuming the premiership, I have had the honor of meeting you on several occasions, whether in Doha or on the sidelines of international meetings, the latest being in New York last month. In these meetings, we discussed ways to end the war in the region and enhance cooperation between our two countries in various fields, particularly energy and electricity, investment, and reconstruction, enabling our people to return to their villages and towns and restore their lives and livelihoods.

I followed up with you during our last meeting in New York regarding the possibility of reaching a framework understanding concerning Qatar's contribution to developing the Lebanese energy sector. Since then, we have continued working together, through our governmental and technical teams, to move from exploring options to formulating the foundations of an integrated and executable project.

Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to your patronage and personal follow-up, we are close to reaching a project between the Lebanese and Qatari governments to rehabilitate, develop, and modernize the electricity production infrastructure in Lebanon.

We are not talking here about building a new power plant, or partially addressing a chronic problem, but rather an integrated project covering various energy production sources and the necessary infrastructure, aiming to provide electricity more stably and at lower cost.

This project is based on the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer model, known as "BOT," whereby Qatari entities undertake financing, execution, and operation, without the Lebanese treasury bearing any upfront investment cost.

This is crucial given the financial conditions Lebanon is passing through, as it allows us to overcome funding obstacles that have delayed the implementation of essential projects in the electricity sector for many years, and to move towards a practical path to address the chronic shortage in production.

I wish to emphasize here a fundamental issue: this project, which I hope to present to the government soon, is being prepared, with the support of the International Finance Corporation, according to the highest standards of transparency, governance, and financial viability."