Road projects in South and Jbeil. Financed by the Islamic Development Bank

The Council of Ministers has approved two road projects financed by loans from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), for a combined value of $50 million.

The first project is for the completion of the South coastal highway. Overseen by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the final phase of the coastal road will link Burj Rahhal to Abasiyeh. The construction of the three-kilometer road will cost over $30 million, to be provided by the IDB and Treasury advance.

The co...

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Balance of payments deficit doubles. Slowdown in cash inflow overtakes that of outflow

The deficit of the balance of payments doubled last year to $3.35 billion at the end of 2015 according to the Central Bank (BDL).

Roger Melki, Advisor to the Executive Board of Bemo Bank, attributed the widening of the deficit to the incremental effect of many factors, all leading to a waning in investor appetite.

The banking sector's capacity to attract capital has deteriorated due to higher systemic risk and domestic business opportunities have become fewer owing to the war of at...

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Valentine’s Day quintuples flower sales. Local production reaches $15 million per year

Valentine's Day is a boost to the market, as it comes in the middle of the slow winter season. Flower shops rely on this week as this product tops the list of Valentine's Day gifts.

Flower wholesalers have prepared themselves for this occasion, importing up to 800,000 red roses to meet demand. Traders generally import around 150,000 flowers per week. Red roses are imported from the Netherlands, India, Kenya, and Ecuador.

Imad Haddad, General Manager of Bonsai, a local producer, i...

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$50 million for garbage export. To spend over six months

The Council of Ministers approved today a Treasury advance of $50 million to start the garbage export process.

"In the first stage, garbage near households and water sources will be removed," said Nabil de Freij, State Minister for Administrative Reform. Trash removal is expected to start at the end of this month.

The company in charge of handling the export process, British Chinook Urban Mining, will remove at least 1,700 tons per day in order for it to be financially feasible. "E...

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Civil Defense contractors are now full time employees. No financial cost for the State Treasury

The Council of Ministers approved today a decree for turning Civil Defense contract workers into full-time employees.

Nabil De Freige, Minister of the Office of Ministry of State for Administrative Reform, said that turning Civil Defense volunteers into full-time employees still requires several procedures. Volunteers should undertake limited examinations at the Civil Service Council.

There are 681 Civil Defense contract workers. Volunteers total 3,316, according to the Civil Defe...

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Farmers registry by FAO. To provide farmers with social coverage and other benefits

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) will launch a project to create a unified farmers registry by the end of this year. The target is to eventually allow farmers access to social, agricultural, and health services, among other objectives through unifying the data at the ministry.

Faten Adada, Social Protection Focal Point at FAO, said that the organization previously studied the strengths and weaknesses o...

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2,000 operating insurance brokers. Ongoing efforts to regulate the sector

There were 2,005 insurance brokers and agents until the end of June 2015, according to the Ministry of Economy's published guide at the Official Gazette.

More than 1,500 are agents affiliated with insurance companies. Around 140 are independent brokers and 330 are brokerage firms.

Elias Hanna, Chairman of the Lebanese Insurance Brokers Syndicate (LIBS) said that the number of brokers has grown due to increasing awareness among clients, persistent security problems, and recent educ...

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Traffic improves at Tripoli Port. Exports surge 136 percent this year

The activity of Port of Tripoli (PoT) improved last year compared to the year before.

Total goods reached 1.8 million tons. Exports jumped 136 percent to 439,000 tons. "We have started to export to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq through Turkey, which helped spike exports," said Ahmad Tamer, PoT Director General.

Despite this significant climb, total revenues only rose by 25 percent to $14 million. Tamer said: "This is because the port mostly handles general cargo, which has a much...

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EDL deficit down 33 percent. Cost of energy led to $667 million in savings

Electricité du Liban's (EDL) fiscal deficit fell by 33 percent, by the end of 2015, compared to the year before.

Walid Mezher, member of the EDL board, said: "Deficit dropped by $667million this year to $1.4 billion."

The national power producer expects the number to go down even more by the end of this year. "We are expecting the deficit to reach $1.1 billion by the end 2016, if oil prices continue to drop," he said.

According to Mezher, EDL is still unable to invest...

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Trade balance deficit improves by 12 percent. Decrease in international oil prices contributed most to lower import value

The trade balance (exports minus imports) improved by 12 percent last year, reaching $15 billion compared to $17 billion in 2014, according to Customs.

Marwan Barakat, Head of Research at Bank Audi, said that the decrease in the trade is attributed to the drop in oil prices and the depreciation of some currencies, mainly the euro versus the dollar.

Imports dropped by 12 percent, exports by 11 percent. The drop in the value of exports was due to the insecurity of transport lines t...

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Universal health coverage program from World Bank. Around 150,000 poor people will benefit from health coverage

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has launched the Universal Health Coverage project. Around 150,000 poor people will benefit from free healthcare coverage.

The project is financed by MoPH ($6 million) and the World Bank ($15 million).

Implementation of the project will start in the next few months and will last three years. The funds will be transferred to 75 accredited primary healthcare centers in various regions. The healthcare centers, in collaboration with NGOs and munic...

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