The World Bank will approve an $80-million municipal infrastructure loan to Lebanon before the end of this month as part of a broader effort by the bank to coordinate reconstruction in the south of the country, reported the Daily Star Saturday.
Resident representative of the World Bank in Lebanon, Hari Prasad, was quoted as saying that up to $12 million of the infrastructure funds could be targeted at the south.
This project will fund street lighting, road paving and minor works in about 700 municipalities, said the daily.
Prasad added that the bank could work to rebuild the south over the next three to five years alongside potential donors such as the European Union (EU), the United States, Italy and various Arab countries.
World Bank president James Wolfensohn sent a letter to Lebanese finance minister George Corm last week saying the bank "will be prepared to lead the effort" and organize a conference of donors, the Daily Star added.
The bank is also waiting for parliamentary approval of a $55 million general education project to rehabilitate schools, train teachers, revise curricula and provide financial assistance to poorer children.
Final approval of the education and infrastructure projects would bring the Bank's spending commitments to Lebanon to $750 million across 12 projects, and officials said previously it could lend $200 million-$300 million a year in the future, said the daily - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
