Saudi and Lebanese officials signed Monday in Beirut an agreement upon which the Saudi Fund for Development grants Lebanon 100 million dollars, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Part of the money will be allocated to fund the Breisa Lake Dam project in Minyeh-Dinnieh, said the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri attended the signing ceremony, where the agreement was inked by the fund's director-general, Mohammed Bin Abdullah al-Suqeir, and Mahmoud Othman, president of the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction, said the paper.
Suqeir told a press conference that funding the lake project will be one of the tweleve projects being financed by the kingdom in Lebanon at a total cost of 150 million dollars, said SPA.
Hariri gave a short speech thanking Saudi Arabia for helping to carry out the project, which he described as "important" and "vital," said the Daily Star.
The prime minister also praised Saudi's "continuous support" in helping with the country's reconstruction.
Located some 2,000 meters above sea level, the Breisa Dam will be 21 meters high at its center, 615 meters long, and 8 meters thick at the top.
Some 700,000 cubic meters of dirt will be used to form the dam.
The resulting lake will have a capacity of about 1 million cubic meters of water, and will be used to help irrigate 3,500 hectares of land, said the paper, adding that it will also help make use of around 90 percent of area water which is not currently being used.
The project will take two years to complete, and bids are expected within a month, said the daily -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
