Blog
World Bank To Officially Defund Bisri Dam Project
A major win for the beautiful Bisri Valley and all environmental advocates in Lebanon.
The World Bank has officially decided to defund the Bisri Dam project after the Lebanese government failed to meet the deadline put in place by WB seniors. The deadline was set for September 4th, coinciding with the one-month mark of the Beirut blast, and passed only a few moments ago.
Consequently, WB seniors refused to grant Lebanese officials an extension, and decided to pull the rug from underneath the controversial project.
The World Bank had been waiting on the government to meet preconditions in order to commence construction of the dam using WB funds since July, but the government failed to propose a way forward.
This comes after a national campaign to protect Bisri valley described the dam as an “environmental ticking time-bomb” that will go off if no proper actions were taken.
We hope the loan of this project will be redirected to support and to rebuild lives and livelihoods of people impacted by the Beirut blast.
1
The World Bank has officially decided to defund the Bisri Dam project after the Lebanese government failed to meet the deadline put in place by WB seniors. The deadline was set for September 4th, coinciding with the one-month mark of the Beirut blast, and passed only a few moments ago.
— MTV Lebanon News (@MTVLebanonNews) September 4, 2020
Consequently, WB seniors refused to grant Lebanese officials an extension, and decided to pull the rug from underneath the controversial project.
The deadline the @WorldBank granted to the Lebanese government to implement the previously agreed terms & resume the construction of the Bisri Dam ends 4Sep 2020
— Rula El Halabi (@Rulaelhalabi) September 3, 2020
Now the bank will have to withdraw the remaining loan from the dam project#save_the_bisri_valley@savebisri pic.twitter.com/uBr9fNACNx
The World Bank had been waiting on the government to meet preconditions in order to commence construction of the dam using WB funds since July, but the government failed to propose a way forward.
— Save The Bisri Valley (@savebisri) April 5, 2020
Why the Bisri Dam should be stopped? The answer pic.twitter.com/DyS33KvklD
This comes after a national campaign to protect Bisri valley described the dam as an “environmental ticking time-bomb” that will go off if no proper actions were taken.
World bank on the Bisri Dam project: Crisis of the sort often imply a change in national priorities in light of emerging needs. The World Bank has globally agreed to help countries re-channel available resources to emerging priorities of a more pressing and acute nature… pic.twitter.com/0Y8zhGOC5j
— Larissa Aoun (@LarissaAounSky) April 16, 2020
We hope the loan of this project will be redirected to support and to rebuild lives and livelihoods of people impacted by the Beirut blast.
1
