The headquarters of Electricité du Liban in Beirut, devastated by the explosion at the Beirut port on Aug. 4, 2020. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil on Tuesday said in a statement that he sent two letters to Banque Du Liban, with the aim of improving the power supply provided by the state-owned Electricité du Liban.
The first text is a request to open a document of credit in favor of Vitol Bahrain, the company that won the tender for the purchase of shiploads of fuel for EDL and whose vessels have been waiting off the Lebanese coast for several weeks. This sum will be repaid after six months, "in accordance with Decree No. 10963 of 1/18/2023" issued by the cabinet, Khalil said.
The second letter is a request to extend the credit line enjoyed by the Iraqi company SOMO, according to the agreement concluded and then extended between Lebanon and Iraq for the import and exchange of fuel.
These two letters follow a meeting of the ministerial committee formed to monitor the implementation of the amended emergency electricity plan and the means allocated to it. The committee members had approved on Monday the granting of an advance from the Treasury of $42 million.
This sum, whose disbursement had not been approved on Jan. 18, will allow the unloading of two shipments of more than 60,000 tons of grade A and grade B fuel intended for the power plants of Jiyeh (Chouf) and Zouk (Kesrouan). The use of this stock, however, remains dependent on a "clear and explicit decision issued by the committee," the statement issued by the latter said.