Canal 800 loans
to secure $180 million

Project to serve 98 villages in the South with potable water

The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) signed two loan agreements yesterday, with the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) for the financing of the second phase of the Canal 800 project.
“The Arab Fund will contribute $109 million and the Kuwaiti Fund $71 million,” said Wafaa Charafeddine, CDR Director of Funding.

Canal 800 would convey around 120 million cubic meters of water from the Qaraoun Dam, on the Litani River, to irrigate 1,500 hectares of agricultural land under 800 meters of elevation. The project covers 98 villages in Nabatieh, the Marjayoun plain and South Litani to the southern borders.

The two loans are for the second phase, which includes the construction of a main water conveyor, tunnels, a small hydropower production plant, and reservoirs.

The loans will have a three percent interest and will be paid over a period of 22 years, with a five-year grace period.

The first phase, which consists of network installations in the villages, will be completed within two years. The overall cost of the Canal 800 project is estimated at $360 million.