Health education
receives $80 million

Departments will have a capacity for 1,200 students

A loan agreement by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance a department for public health at the Lebanese University was approved by Parliament last month. The campuses in Tripoli and Fanar will benefit.

IDB will finance the project with a $72.5 million loan and the Government will provide the remaining $7.5 million. The loan will be paid back within 11 years, starting in 2020. The fee margin will be equivalent to the Libor rate (presently at 0.97) for six months plus 135 base points. Thus, the fees will be equal to around $2.5 million.

The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) will manage the works, which will be completed in four years.

“The agreement with IDB states that the loan will be provided year after year to build a faculty at the Tripoli campus,” said Ali El Ali, the Technical Committee Coordinator responsible for executing the LU campus in Tripoli.

The loan is provided for civil works required for construction, educational equipment, furniture and will be used to develop the curricula and consulting services. The project will also include the construction of internal roads, infrastructure, fences and parking for these faculties.

The departments will have a capacity for 600 students in each campus and will provide eight specializations and six masters’ degrees.