Miqati Hails Agreement with Turkish Company as Committee Sets Penalty on Commissions

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Prime Minister Najib Miqati hailed on Friday the decision by a ministerial committee tasked with studying the leasing of the power-generating vessels to ink an agreement with the Turkish company Karadeniz.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper, the premier considered that the decision reached his expectations as the tenders with the companies were transparent and the original price was slashed by 9 percent.

Miqati hoped that the cabinet would approve the committee’s decision, noting that the first vessel would arrive in Lebanon at the end of July.

Sources told As Safir newspaper that the Turkish company representatives were lenient more than the representatives of an American company who refused to lower the prices during negotiations.

The daily reported that the committee tasked a technical committee to follow up the work during the Easter holiday in order to draft the contract and conditions and refer it to the cabinet for discussion on April 20.

The sources revealed that the main reason behind choosing Karadeniz was its pledge to send the first vessel in July while the second ship will be dispatched a few months later.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told As Safir that the committee took the right decision that is in Lebanon’s best interest.

“We have reached a deal better than we had expected,” Bassil said.

According to al-Liwaa, Miqati headed the negotiations with the Turkish company in the presence of the committee members, including Bassil.

An Nahar newspaper said that the ministerial committee imposed a condition that the Turkish company would have to pay a penalty worth 10 times the amount of a commission paid to anyone other than its legitimate agent engineer Haitham Doumit.

The committee was able to reduce the price of leasing the power vessels from $870 million over the next two years – renewable for one year.

The two Turkish ships will have a capacity of 270 megawatts.

The cabinet had agreed to lease the power vessels in order to rehabilitate Jiyyeh and Zouk power plants and build one or two new ones to resolve Lebanon’s lingering electricity crisis.

Comments 8
Thumb shab almost 12 years

Wonderful, more air polution and green house effect. Who cares about the future, fill you pockets guys.

Missing ulpianus almost 12 years

What can I say. True, but actually the Lebanese peoples fault in many ways. This is the problem of indirect democracy. If you do not ask what the people you vote for has as an agenda, they will not do what you want.

We should ask the political parties about their programs in certain issues. Demand green energy. Demand actions/plans in other aspects of life, long BEFORE the elections.

Why not young people starting their own non-confessional parties , concentrating on issues not traditional to the lebanese politics, meaning not talking about israel, syria, palestinians and all this crap that have been polluting our minds for decades.

Missing ulpianus almost 12 years

Why dont you start an organisation teaching civic responsibilities in Lebanon? Somebody has to be the first...

Default-user-icon May7 (Guest) almost 12 years

Flame thrower please concentrate on paying your electricity bill before anything else

Default-user-icon Erasmus (Guest) almost 12 years

The ships are not a bad idea, and have been used before in similar situations while we get our act together and increase our land-based generation capability.

Unfortunately, the price Lebanon is paying is far higher than the norm, in part to facilitate the payment of massive "commissions".

The US company, Waller Marine, cannot offer commissions due to US FCPA rules that forbid the payment of bribes, or commissions, to foreign officials whether directly or indirectly.

Even Hugo Chavez, who hates the US, ended up hiring Waller Marine to supplement the power needs of Venezuela due to their expertise in the matter, the reliability of their service, and reasonable prices.

Disclosure: I am in no way affiliated with any of the entities mentioned herein, I am just familiar with power infrastructure.

Default-user-icon VZA (Guest) almost 12 years

When was the last medium speed power barge built by Waller?

Default-user-icon Gabby (Guest) almost 12 years

In Bassil's eyes is a "commission" the same as stealing the cash directly? Any money he takes will fall under some other area that is not a "commission".

Imaginwe if the Shia paid......none of this would be necessary. This is what the Hezz mafia brings. Somehow they never say thank you for what they take for free every month.

Default-user-icon VZA (Guest) almost 12 years

Karadeniz was the only qualified bidder who had the equipment and the expertise

Venezuela is the most corrupt market in the world, not a good comparison.