The Lebanese Government has to take Iran’s offer to build two power stations in Beirut and south seriously, economist Ahmad Jaber told Al-Manar on Tuesday.
In an interview with Al-Manar’s Panorama Today, Jaber warned that power shortage in Lebanon requires declaring a state of emergency.
“The Lebanese government has to deal with the issue seriously and responsibly. Both the public and private sectors are suffering of power shortage, with many private associations and public facilities are suspending their activity.”
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian renewed the Islamic Republic’s offers to build two power stations in Beirut and the south, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
“The Iranian offer meets Lebanon’s need of power. The private and the public sectors are suffering from reduction in their competitive abilities due to high costs of power, something which led to high costs of production, high prices and then increase in inflation,” the Lebanese economist told Panorama Today’s Hasan Hamzeh.
Asked whether there are technical obstacles that may hinder building the power stations, Jaber assured that the problem is related to Lebanon’s political will.
“For Lebanese citizens, the issue now is not only related to loosing deposits in the banks, but rather to lacking the minimum livelihood conditions in this country. The Iranian offer must be taken seriously.”
In this context, he noted that power sector is a vital one, “just like the communication sector,” underlining the importance of reviving this sector since “it can provide the Lebanese Government with revenues that may contribute to measures aimed at solving the current economic crisis.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website
