Entertainment center
in Baalbek

Part of a larger Lebanese-French
cooperation agreement

The Union of Baalbek Municipalities has begun works on a 700,000 square meter entertainment center that will include sports fields, pools, conference halls, and a theater, at a cost of $2.4 million.

This project is part of a Lebanese French plan, within a cooperation protocol with Vallée de l’Hérault region in the South of France, signed in 2013. The 2015-2030 plan includes projects to activate tourism, improve agriculture, and integrate alternative energy.

Hussein Awada, Chairman of the Union, said: “After studying the needs of the eight-member Union, we found that projects are most needed in these sectors.” The plan includes 22 projects to be implemented in the short, medium, and long terms.

One of these projects, funded by a $2.5 million grant by the World Bank, aims to withdraw fresh water from artesian wells through solar energy. “The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) is making the necessary studies to launch a tender for this purpose,” he said.

The local network for touristic development, funded by the European Union, will also be reactivated. The project will focus on environmental and sports tourism by bringing back activities such as hiking to the nearby al-Zab forest in Barka and kayaking to the Assi River.

In terms of agriculture, the plan focuses on several topics, including wastewater treatment and its reuse to irrigate crops, the development of hill lakes, and drop irrigation.