In the southern suburbs of Beirut, after a night of Israeli bombing, on the morning of Oct. 6, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
The World Bank will not begin implementing the $250 million loan allocated for the removal of war debris before completing the appointments in the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), which are expected to be brought by the Lebanese official delegation to the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on April 21 in Washington, LBCI reported Wednesday, citing an anonymous source.
L'Orient Today was not able to get a comment from the World Bank representatives in Lebanon.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have placed significant emphasis on appointing a new president and board for Lebanon's Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), according to LBCI.
The Council for Development and Reconstruction was established through Decree No. 5 dated Jan. 31, 1977. It is an autonomous institution endowed with extended jurisdiction and is directly accountable to the Council of Ministers through the Prime Minister. Its role was expanded after the war, following a decision by former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
The CDR has been led since the mid-2000s by Nabil Jisr, and its operations have been regularly criticized.
The World Bank had presented a $1 billion project to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in March, including a $250 million loan to finance the initial steps of reconstructing Lebanese regions destroyed by Israeli bombings, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. The remainder of the amount is to be financed by international aid.
The World Bank finalized its definitive report earlier in March on the damages and losses sustained by Lebanon due to the war between Israel and Hezbollah from Oct. 8, 2023, until the truce on Nov. 27, 2024. It estimated the total damage cost at $6.8 billion in regions affected by Israeli bombings, with economic losses estimated at $7.2 billion for the entire country. It also estimated the recovery and reconstruction cost at $11 billion "in the short and medium term."
A $250 million emergency aid loan, which the organization plans to grant Lebanon for "reconstruction, debris removal, and infrastructure rehabilitation," had already been discussed with relevant officials. Finance Minister Yassine Jaber had mentioned the $1 billion project to the agency Reuters in late February.
