MP Nada Boustani in a meeting with caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad. (Credit: NNA)
MP and former Energy Minister Nada Boustani stated on Monday that she was "unaware" of the tender launched in September 2024 by the Energy Ministry concerning a hydropower plant project in Jeita, assuring that the project will be back on track.
"I repeat that I was not aware of the previous tender. Had I known, I would have opposed it and asked for clarifications ... The previous tender, invalidated by the Court of Auditors, is behind us. A new one will be issued and the funding is ready," she wrote on X, following a meeting with caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad. "The project will be launched and we will accept no delays ... We will ensure it is executed quickly,"
On Oct. 17, Fayad held a meeting at the ministry with companies potentially interested in the project. He later organized a press conference, the content of which was relayed notably by the site Tayyar.org, the official FPM website. The conference was also announced by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The tender was launched on Sept. 4. The submission deadline was extended from Oct. 28 to Nov. 11, a period marked by Israeli bombings on several regions of Lebanon, but no bids were submitted. The Union of Municipalities of the southern suburbs of Beirut, chaired by Mohammad Dergham, then expressed interest in the project. Subsequent contacts led to a direct agreement, which the caretaker energy minister wanted to have validated by the Court of Auditors before finalizing it.
The Court of Auditors issued a negative opinion in a decision published on Jan. 16, highlighting several irregularities in the public procurement procedure. It found that competitive rules were not respected, that the Union of Municipalities of the southern suburbs of Beirut had not proven it had the necessary expertise in this field, that the project exceeded its geographical competence and that certain annexes did not contain the required signatures for acceptance, among other issues.
The project consists of deploying a hydroelectric turbine with a capacity of 1.2 megawatts in the Jeita region, specifically Hrash-Jeita, where the famous grotto of the same name is located. According to the ministry's calculations, it could save $2 million per year in electricity expenses for its beneficiaries. The funds allocated to the project, already budgeted by the ministry, amounted to a maximum of $3.7 million.
The caretaker energy minister was criticized for agreeing to entrust the Union of Municipalities of the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, with a project to build a hydroelectric plant in Jeita (Kesrwan), a predominantly Christian area opposed to the Shiite duo.