PSP, Hizbullah, Amal Fail to Agree on Electricity, STL Funding

A meeting held between officials from the Progressive Socialist Party, Hizbullah and Amal movement on Sunday night failed to reach agreement on how to fund a $1.2 billion project to generate 700 Megawatts of electricity, involved sources said.

The sources told As Safir daily that the officials agreed on a roadmap on the role that the cabinet would play in the implementation of the project and the formation of an electricity regulatory authority but failed to decide on how to fund the plan because the government doesn’t have the capacity to cover all its expenses.

The meeting was held at the residence of General Security Department chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and it brought together PSP chief Walid Jumblat, Ministers Ghazi Aridi, Wael Abou Faour, Alaeddine Terro, MP Akram Shehayyeb, Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad, Hussein Khalil, Wafiq Safa, MP Hani Qobaissi and Ahmed Baalbaki.

During the meeting, Jumblat stressed that he doesn’t reject the implementation of Energy Minister Jebran Bassil’s plan and that his remarks on the project are only technical.

The sources said that Jumblat continued to hold onto his stance to form a technical committee to oversee the implementation of the project.

Abou Faour told An Nahar daily that the “technical roadmap” to solve the electricity crisis lies in government control of the funds, an essential role for Electricite du Liban and a clear management of the project either by a ministerial committee or the electricity regulatory authority.

Involved sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the conferees also discussed the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon but failed to reach any agreement.

Jumblat insisted that the government cannot escape its responsibilities in the funding as long as it has committed itself to international resolutions, they said.