Italian firm wins first phase
of Beirut water project

$200 million contract to double water supply

The Italy-based firm, Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti (CMC)di Ravenna, has won the tender to construct the first phase of the Greater Beirut Water Supply Project.

The four-year contract is valued at $200 million. The result of the tender that was conducted by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) was initialed this week.

The first phase entails the construction of a 24 kilometre-long conveyor tunnel and ten kilometres of pipelines, according to Elie Moussalli, Project Director at the CDR.

The entire project is funded by the World Bank and Islamic Bank for Development (IDB). It consists of the construction of Bisri Dam, 400 kilometres of water networks, a hydropower plant, and the mentioned conveyor and infrastructure.

Moussalli said that the first phase is expected to double the amount of potable water that Greater Beirut is now provided with.

The Bisri Dam is located between the Chouf and Jezzine areas and will have a storage capacity of 125 million m3 of potable water, the second largest, after Qaraoun’s 210 million m3.