Iloubnan - Lebanon launches environmental initiatives with international funding, Septembre 6, 2010

BEIRUT - The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environment launched four environmental studies that will cost $5.6m and will be financed by the Lebanese government over a four-year period, Byblos Bank's Lebanon This Week reported.

One study will develop a strategy to combat pollution in the Litani River and the Qaraoun Lake, while the other studies will cover the development of permits required for quarrying and to address the reorganization of dumping sites. Further, the Italian Development Cooperation Office approved a project to build wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations, and to install sewage pipes in the villages of Hrajel and Mechmech.

The project will be financed by soft loans of €14m. It also approved a project, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, which aims to encourage the production of electricity from solar energy by installing more than 900 photovoltaic panels in public buildings. Italy will provide a €1m grant to finance the project. In parallel, the Kuwait fund for Economic Development announced that it will contribute up to 70% to the renovation of the historic Beaufort Castle in Southern Lebanon that will cost $3m.