An Ogero center in the Badaro district of Beirut. (Credit: P.H.B./L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Telecommunication Ministry and the state-run telecommunication company Ogero received an $8 million donation from China to supply more than 380 of Ogero's sites with solar power, the ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The country's cabinet approved LL1,500 billion in maintenance and development fees, to be disbursed "within days to ... ensure the continuity of [Ogero's] services," according to the statement.
The ministry added that "a ceremony will be held to launch a campaign to collect donations in order to secure the credits necessary for installation, provided that the project is completed and enters the operating phase ... during the summer of 2024."
In 2022, Ogero Director Imad Kreidieh revealed that the company was operating 23 megawatts of backup generators throughout the country, stressing that these were running at full capacity given the limited supply of power provided by Électricité du Liban (EDL).
The Telecoms Ministry said the cabinet reserved "a quantity" of the Iraqi fuel granted to EDL via a barter deal for the state telecoms provider.
The statement indicated that this quantity will be "sufficient until the end of 2024 ... with hopes that receiving [the Iraqi fuel] begins next November.”
Lebanon has been in a barter agreement with Iraq to receive fuel and ensure a power supply for EDL since 2021.
On Sept. 6, the Telecoms Ministry was negotiating with the cabinet and Energy Ministry that "one percent" of the Iraqi fuel be reserved for Ogero.
Under the agreement, Iraq provides two tons of crude fuel oil per year to Lebanon, which is struggling to meet its fuel needs as a result of the economic crisis. Lebanon is then free to exchange this fuel oil with another party for refined fuel that suits EDL's ailing power plants.
Ogero has experienced numerous outages in recent months, cutting off phone and internet service amid a lack of power supply.
"The Ministry, Ogero, and the rest of the telecommunications sector are facing many major challenges since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis that befell the country," according to the statement.