04 October 2007
BEIRUT: President Emile Lahoud officially inaugurated the long-awaited Chabrouh Dam in Faraya on Wednesday. The opening of the $40 million project - held under the slogan "The dream is now a reality" - promises to improve water supplies to dozens of communities. The 63-meter high dam has a storage capacity of some 8 million cubic meters of water and is expected to benefit residents of Kesrouan, Ftouh and Metn.
"Lebanon's resource is not oil," said Nohad Nawfal, who heads the association of Kesrouan municipalities. "Our only resource is water, which we have not yet learned to exploit to benefit our people."
The dam, located 40 kilometers northeast of Beirut, will draw its water from rainfall and Al-Laban Spring.
As part of a 10-year plan undertaken by the Energy and Water Ministry, other dams and man-made lakes are also expected to be erected in different areas in Lebanon. So far, only the Chabrouh Dam has been completed.
"For a successful implementation of the 10-year plan, a thorough appreciation of water and resource management is needed," Fadi Qomeir, the ministry's director general, said in a speech at the opening ceremony.
Failing to fully implement the plan in a timely fashion, Qomeir added, would constitute a costly waste of the country's water resources, which he said were fundamental to economic growth.
Qomeir also said that Lebanon loses 1 billion cubic meters of water to the Mediterranean Sea every year.
"At this rate, Lebanon's calculated loss of wasted water over the decades amounts to billions of dollars, not counting the lost revenues that could have been obtained by water-generated electricity, which is relatively eco-friendly and very cost-effective," said Qomeir.
Hydro-electric power, he added, "could almost be described as free to produce."
Work on the dam began in 2003 and was scheduled to be completed two years ago.
Despite the delay, Qomeir praised those responsible for completing the dam project, referring to the difficulties imposed by domestic political instability and the summer 2006 war with Israel.
The dam is expected to help the communities it serves to meet household and irrigation needs, as well as to provide additional power generation that will benefit tourism and other industries and thereby improve socioeconomic conditions.
Antoine al-Maoushi, a representative of Libanconsult, said the new facility would pay for itself in about 14 years.
"Savings resulting from the new dam are estimated to cover the investment costs by the year 2021, assuming an interest rate of 6 percent and water costs of $0.80 per cubic meter," he explained.
Nawfal also took advantage of the occasion to call for several other infrastructure improvements in the Kesrouan region he represents.
More attention should be paid to the poor condition of roads in the area, he said, in particular the unfinished Zouk Mosbeh-Faraya highway. He also called for measures to reduce emissions at Electricite du Liban's Zouk generation station and concerted efforts to expand the role of the Port of Jounieh beyond hosting fishing boats and pleasure craft.
During the opening ceremony, two Israeli warplanes passed overhead, the latest in a series of airspace violations that have recently become more frequent.
