$5.3 million fund toward Bekaa and Litani water projects

The Dutch government has invested €5 million (around $5.3 million) to support the Bekaa Water Establishment (BWE) and the litani River Association (LRA). The funds will also be used for mapping the country’s entire natural reservoirs, according to Marc Zeeny, Economic & Commercial Attaché at the Dutch Embassy.

Zeeny said an independent Dutch Water Expert Office will open within a Government facility in Beirut in two weeks’ time.

Experts from the office will support the BWE and LRA through the use of sensors for measuring the water and pollution levels in groundwater sources.

The experts will also conduct a project whereby all natural reservoirs in the country will be located on a map.

The fund is also being used to create a “demoplot” for training farmers and those in the agricultural sector to use water for irrigation more efficiently. The “demoplot” is a large piece of agricultural land housing a greenhouse and specialist Dutch technology for this purpose. Dutch experts will conduct the training sessions.

Last year, the Netherlands said it would provide Lebanon with €86 million (around $92 million) toward assisting Syrian refuges in the country. Zeeny said the fund was made available to also support economic development, especially in the agriculture and the water sectors.

More recently, the Dutch provided €2.8 million ($3 million) of the required funds for Agrytech, a smart agri-food tech incubator launched by Berytech, a local incubator, accelerator, and business development center. Bertytech provided $300,000 toward the project.

Reported by Derek A Issacs