Lebanon awaits US approval of electricity supply from Jordan

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AMMAN — Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad on Wednesday said that the US administration's approval of a project to supply Lebanon with electricity from Jordan through Syria has not been issued yet.

On the sidelines of the regional energy conference held at the Dead Sea, Fayyad stressed the need to complete approvals to supply Lebanon with electricity from Jordan through Syria before the summer, asking for help from Arab and foreign countries to supply Lebanon with gas and fuel, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

As for financing the energy transfer project, he said that contracts have already been signed with the Jordanian side, adding that his country is still waiting for funding from the World Bank and final assurances from the US administration in this regard.

Jordan, Lebanon and Syria had previously signed the electric power supply contract and the delivery agreement necessary to start supplying energy from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria's electric grid.

Under the agreement, Lebanon will be supplied with about 150 megawatts of electricity from midnight to 6am, and with 250 megawatts during the remaining times, Fayyad said, referring to the possibility of increasing energy quantities exported to Lebanon.