Lebanon and Syria have signed a gas agreement which will halve the costs of Lebanon's electricity supplies once it takes effect in nine months' time, officials said Sunday, December 9. The accord was signed Saturday by Lebanese Energy and Hydraulic Resources Minister Mohammad Abdel Hamid Beydoun and Syrian Oil Minister Mohammad Maher Jamal.
The deal calls for the construction of a 45-kilometer (30-mile) pipeline to transport Syrian gas to Baddawi power plant in northern Lebanon, Beydoun told reporters, without giving a cost estimate or timeframe for the project. He said the cost of electricity production in Lebanon would be cut by half under the deal with Syria.
The project calls for initial deliveries of 1.5 million cubic meters (52.5 million cubic feet) a day, rising to 3.5 million cubic meters (122.5 million cubic feet), and six million cubic meters (210 cubic feet) in the final phase. — (AFP, Beirut)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
