WASHINGTON, October 3, 2024 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a US$250 million project to step up renewable energy in Lebanon through the restoration of electricity grid services and support for continued implementation of reforms.
Lebanon’s electricity sector has long been at the center of the country’s economic and fiscal challenges. Successive crises over the past years have significantly worsened the sector’s operational and financial viability. Lebanon has recently implemented a set of critical measures that have established the foundation for improved services and financial viability, providing a pathway for a stronger economy and population well-being.
To respond to the crisis facing the country due to conflict and regional instability, the World Bank is also in the process of activating emergency response plans to be able to repurpose resources in the portfolio to respond to the urgent needs of people in Lebanon. This would include emergency support to displaced people that could be deployed through a digital platform the World Bank helped put in place during the COVID epidemic and which has served as a robust modality to transfer targeted support. Emergency support will be implemented in close coordination with development and humanitarian partners, each contributing in ways aligned to respective mandates and strengths.
The succession of crises that Lebanon has experienced since 2019 had caused poverty to skyrocket. According to recent World Bank estimates, poverty more than tripled over the past decade, reaching 44 percent of the population.
The World Bank is further deploying its global and local knowledge where it can be of greatest impact to inform stakeholders on priorities for action. Earlier this year, the Bank assessed damages and losses in the most conflict-affected areas in the south. Our analysis estimates that as of July 2024, $750 million of damages and losses had occurred to housing, businesses, and other infrastructure in these conflict-affected areas. We are rapidly preparing an update to this assessment that will cover the increased damages and losses from the most recent developments.
In these difficult times, aligned with our development mandate and our extensive experience working in fragile and conflict affected settings, the World Bank is committed to continue its support to the people of Lebanon and the wider region.
