Lebanon receives $250mln World Bank loan to ease power problems
DUBAI - The World Bank has granted Lebanon a $250 million loan aimed at helping alleviate persistent power cuts worsened by last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, the country's finance ministry said on Thursday.
Even before the conflict, Lebanon had for years been struggling with a severe shortage of imported fuel and poor infrastructure.
Following the conflict, however, the World Bank said it would need around $11 billion for reconstruction and recovery.
The fighting between the Iran-backed group and Israel ended for the most part in November through a brittle ceasefire brokered by the United States, though the two sides accuse each other of failing to fully implement the deal.
Lebanon had said it received preliminary approval to increase a World Bank reconstruction loan to $400 million from $250 million.
The loan is part of a $1 billion reconstruction programme, with the remainder of the financing to come from international aid.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly Editing by David Goodman and Joe Bavier)
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