Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayad on Wednesday asserted President Aoun’s support for the projects launched by the Ministry, in addition to the strategic project to advance the electricity sector by increasing nutrition and improving the performance of the Electricité du Liban, including “The approval of the gas pipeline reform project that we launched yesterday in the oil installations in Tripoli.
The President had received Minister Fayad at Baabda Palace and was briefed on the stages made by the issue of gas extraction from Egypt through Jordan and from there to Syria and Lebanon, “Which will secure us about 4 hours of additional feeding, with what the Jordan Electricity Company will provide us with which are two extra hours”.
Minister Fayad also briefed the President on the latest developments in the oil and gas exploration file.
After the meeting, Minister Fayad made the following statement:
"I had a meeting with His Excellency the President of the Republic, at my request, first in order to greet him with a glorious Christmas, and in order to put him next in the context of the developments we reached in the past few weeks, especially in the outcome of the visit I made to France, and the projects that we launched yesterday. The meeting was positive, and the most important thing is his support for the strategic project to advance the electricity sector by increasing nutrition and improving the performance of the Electricité du Liban, including the approval we obtained with the support of the Prime Minister, regarding the project to repair the gas pipeline that we launched yesterday in the oil installations in Tripoli.
At the same time, I briefed His Excellency the President about the project to rehabilitate our oil depots, in addition to establishing new depots that would allow us to have a strategic stockpile of oil fuels, which would boost oil investments in Lebanon. This is something that the North region benefits from in light of this difficult situation.
As for the issue of electricity, the advancement of this sector and the improvement of nutrition, the projects are going on the track set for them, specifically with regard to the gas that will reach us from Egypt through Jordan and from there to Syria and Lebanon, and which will provide about 4 hours of additional feeding, pending the groveling. All the obstacles and the implementation stages have been completed, in addition to what the Jordan Electricity Company will provide us with from an additional two hours.
What must happen now is the repair of the line, which will take about a month and a half, so that by the end of February, the repair of the line should have been completed in the first stage, allowing gas to reach Deir Ammar, and on the other hand, the Egyptian side must have completed the work it is doing in order to ensure that the contract will not have negative repercussions resulting from “Caesar’s Law.”
We, for our part, will have obtained all the conditions of the World Bank regarding financing. It is assumed that the bank's board of directors met with the aim of finalizing the required approval in order to reach the additional feeding.
The conversation with His Excellency the President also tackled the file of oil and gas exploration, and the need to activate the matter with the French side, as soon as possible to excavate in Block No. 9”.
President Aoun then met with the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, former Minister Dr. Jihad Azour, and discussed with him the economic situation, the stages of preparing an economic recovery plan and the need to expedite its completion in preparation for submitting it to the Fund.
The President also received the General President of the Lebanese Maronite Congregation, Abbot Neamat Allah Al-Hashem, and the Secretary of the Lebanese Maronite Congregation, Father Michel Abu Taqa, who congratulated him on the holidays.
The delegation discussed with President Aoun the activities carried out by monastic institutions to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese in these difficult circumstances.
Al-Hashem hoped that President Aoun's invitation to dialogue on important national issues would receive the necessary response from the parties concerned with this dialogue.
President Aoun then received Christmas and New Year cables from Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio, Hungary President Janus Ader, and Korean President Moon Jae-in.
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