NNA - Finance Minister, Yassine Jaber, and World Bank Regional Director Jean-Christophe Carret signed a landmark $250 million loan agreement aimed at overhauling Lebanon’s ailing electricity sector, a move both officials hailed as a pivotal step toward long-overdue reforms.

"This loan represents a strong boost to the structural reforms Lebanon is implementing in the electricity sector," said Jaber, noting that the country has waited years to implement regulatory frameworks and activate a long-stalled oversight body. "We are finally making real strides toward transforming how this sector is managed."

Carret described the agreement as a "turning point" in the World Bank’s partnership with Lebanon and its first International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan for Lebanon’s power sector. "The loan will help deliver cleaner, more reliable, and financially sustainable electricity services," Jaber said, underlining its strategic alignment with the government’s broader reform commitments.

Key components of the project include the establishment of a new national control center, upgrades to accounting and billing systems at Électricité du Liban, and the development of scalable solar energy farms, with the first phase expected to generate 150 megawatts and save $40 million annually in fuel costs.

Minister Jaber expressed gratitude to Carret and other World Bank partners for their support, especially at a time when Lebanon is in urgent need of external assistance to stabilize and recover.

================R.H.