Zero interest loans
for eco-friendly plants

Three plants to start benefiting

An agreement was signed on November 6 between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to give low-interest loans to industrialists who will apply environmentally friendly standards.

The agreement is part of the World Bank-funded Lebanon Environmental Pollution Abatement Project (LEPAP). The project, which is valued at $18 million, gives companies incentives to reduce their carbon footprint. The loans have a near zero interest rate.

The ministry has so far accepted projects presented by three plants whose names have not yet been released, according to Marwan Rizkallah, project manager at LEPAP. Each will be given loans of at least $100,000, but in general there is no ceiling for the value of the loan. Up to 25 public and private enterprises will benefit from the assistance.

The project is comprised of two components. The first aims to provide technical support and capacity training for the MOE, the banking sector and the industrial associations. The second aims to provide concessional loans through the banking sector for pollution control to enterprises, in order to bring air emissions, effluent discharges, and industrial waste generation towards compliance with national environmental standards in a cost-effective manner.