Tripoli Economic Zone and Deir Ammar Power Plant on the Table for Discussion

Yesterday, Prime Minister Nouf al-Salam chaired a meeting of the Higher Council for Privatization and Public-Private Partnership, attended by ministers of finance Yasin Jabber, economy and trade Amer al-Bassat, labor Muhammad Haydar, justice Adel Nasr, energy and water Jou al-Saddi, public works and transport Faiq Rassamni, interior and municipalities Ahmad al-Hajjar, communications Charbel al-Hajj, Minister of State for Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamil Shihadeh, acting Secretary-General of the Higher Council for Privatization and Public-Private Partnership Judge Mahmoud Makieh, President of the Board of Directors of the Special Economic Zone in Tripoli Hassan Dandashli and his team, legal expert at the Higher Council for Privatization and Public-Private Partnership Attorney Tariq Dandashli, and member of the Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority Daniel Jaha.

The council reviewed financial, technical, and legal studies related to the Tripoli Special Economic Zone project, referred the file to the Council of Ministers which approved it, paving the way for initiating procedures to select the private partner in accordance with the Law on Regulation of Public-Private Partnership and its amendments.

Additionally, the council discussed the draft decree aiming to establish Electricité du Liban (EDL) Company, assess its assets, separate its activities, and define the company's founding charter, deciding to defer final decision pending further study.

The council concluded its sessions today, having reviewed financial, technical, legal, environmental, and social studies submitted by the International Finance Corporation regarding the project to build a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and a new power plant in Deir Ammar (2). After deliberations, the council approved the study findings and decided to refer the project file to the Council of Ministers for approval, paving the way for initiating procedures to select the private partner in accordance with the Law on Regulation of Public-Private Partnership and its amendments.