LEBANON

Regional Water Seminar ENPI Countries

Jordan, 21-24 March 2011

Peter Christiaens Infrastructure & Local Development Section

EU Delegation to Lebanon

WATER & SANITATION IN LEBANON - Content

• State of Play – Country– Water Sector

• General• Institutional & Organizational• Financial & Commercial• Legal & Regulatory

– Environmental concerns– National Water Sector Strategy

• EU interventions– Bilateral– Regional

STATE OF PLAY - Country

• General– Volatile political situation– Strong economic performance but heavily indebted state– Strong social inequalities– Time consuming consensus building for political reasons– Patronage imbedded in all layers of society

• Public Sector– Poor service delivery– Lack of human resources– Weak policy planning, absence of LT vision & budgetingLEADS TO– Mismatch of investments– Non optimal use of financial resources

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• General situation– Key figures

• renewable water resources: 926 m³/capita/year*• public water supply connection rate: 79% • wastewater collecting systems connections: 60%• more than 1/3 of network age of >30yr• 48% of unaccounted water• 8% of water treated• service hours between 8 & 13 hours/day**• water quality is low

*1.000 m³/person/year Water Scarcity Treshold** with the exception of parts of the city of Tripoli with 22h service is attained

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Institutional & Organizational

– Law 221 of 2000 organizing the sector in• Four (4) Regional Water Establishments (North, South,

Beirut & Mount Lebanon, Bekaa) and the Litani Water Establishment

• Under supervision of the Ministry of Energy & Water (MoEW)

– MoEW responsabilities• Policy making, planning, conservation/resource

management, regulation

– Regional Water Establishments (WEs) responsibilities

• Planning and business operation

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Institutional & Organizational

– Deficiencies in implementation of Law 221• Implementation of the law initiated but not fully concluded• Transfer of functions to WE subject to several delays• WE not fully administrative & financial autonomous• MoEW still dedicated to projects/O&M• Shortage of technical staff in MoEW (81% vacancies) and

WEs (67% vacancies)• No performance monitoring of WEs• No clear allocation of planning and capital spending

responsibilities

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Financial & Commercial

• Water supply– Flat tariff structure (average of 0,39 USD/m³)– Low collection rates (47% of subscribers)– Illegal connectionsno public support for installation of water meters

• Irrigation– Inefficient techniques – No volumetric charges– Relying on undeclared groundwater

• Waste water– No tariff applied

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Financial & Commercial

© Booz – Allen - Hamilton

PPP Participation vs. Sector Maturity

Responsibility of Private Sector

Service Contract

Management Contract

Lease

Concession / BOT

Divestiture / BOO

Asset ownership with operational and commercial

responsibility

No asset ownership; with

operational responsibilities

Low cost recovery

Full cost recovery

Water Sector

Maturity

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Financial & Commercial

– Private Sector Participation• Legal framework not ready• Given inefficiency and low tariff collection, Management

Contracts can be the only starting point• Lebanon lags behind compared with other MENA countries

on PSP experience

STATE OF PLAY – Water Sector

• Legal & Regulatory

• A Water Code has been prepared incorporating Integrated Water Resources Management approach (IWRM)

• A regulatory framework for Private Sector Participation has been prepared

• A National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS) has been presented end 2010 identifying problems, actions and investments

STATE OF PLAY – Environmental concerns

• Pollution & Climate Change• Water resources pollution

– Groundwater pollution (increasing salinity due to over pumping/contamination by nitrates & pesticides)

– Surface water pollution (bacteriological contamination, chemical contamination)

– Permanent sources of pollution– Damages of flash flooding

• Wastewater– Coverage of waste water network 60%– Wastewater treatment 8%– Standards for wastewater discharge and wastewater

reuse in agriculture available– No pollution control program implemented

STATE OF PLAY – Environmental concerns

• Water resources & climate change• Predicted water scarcity for Lebanon by 2020

– No reliable data collection– No long term river, spring and snow covering program– No water usage scenarios available

• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) – Cost of environmental degradation is 1% of GDP– SEA fully included in NWSS including economic & social

considerations

STATE OF PLAY – National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS)

• National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS)– “Ensure water supply, irrigation and sanitation services over all

the Lebanese territory on continuous basis and at optimal service levels, with a commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability”

• 16 initiatives identified– 9 institutional & organizational initiatives to

• Address the deficiencies in the implementation of Law 221• Allocation of planning & capital spending responsibilities• Improvement of the irrigation sector

– 2 financial & commercial initiatives• Water supply, irrigation and wastewater tariff structure• Prepare sector for Private Sector Participation

STATE OF PLAY – National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS)

• 16 initiatives identified– 2 legal & regulatory initiatives to

• Enactment of the ‘Code de l’Eau’• Implication of the NWSS on legal requirements

– 3 environmental initiatives

• Refine climate change knowledge on water sector• Improve water and wastewater quality• Enhance the Strategic Environmental Assessment

within the Water Sector

STATE OF PLAY – National Water Sector Strategy (NWSS)

• Investment Plan

– CAPEX 2011-2015: 5.086 USD Million– OPEX 2011-2015: 732 USD Million– Revenues 2011-2015: 600 USD Million with

• Maintained flat rate until 2014• Number of registered subscribers increased• Collection rate improved to 60% by 2012 and 80% by 2015

BUT• Lack of transparency & stakeholder consultation• Very low institutional coordination

EU INTERVENTIONS – Bilateral

• Ongoing interventions– Mise en place des outils de gestion en resources eaux

(MOTGE) project - €5 mio• Equipment and trainings for Customer Management, Accounting/Finance, Geographic

Information System (GIS), Computerized Maintenance for the 4 WE & Litani Establishment

– Water Distribution & Local WWTP in the South in the frame of reconstruction after 2006 war

• Extending Water Distribution Network connecting 4.500 people in Bent Jbeil area

• 2 Boreholes impacting 210.000 people in Nabatieh area

• Rehabilitation of Water Reservoir (250 households), Water Pond (455 farmers) & Irrigation Channel (9000 farmers)

• 3 Municipal WWTP (Yohmor - 3.272 people, Kfar Sir – 5.844 people, Zaoutar – 5.559 people)

EU INTERVENTIONS – Bilateral

• Ongoing interventions– EU Water Working

• In absence of any coordination in the sector, the EU together with EU MS (Germany, Italy, France,….) initiated a coordination working group in the frame of the Paris Declaration on the Division of Labor

• During 2009 the group was extended with other important donors in the sector (UN agencies, WB, Arab Funds,…)

• Since beginning of 2010 the line Ministry took over the Presidency, GIZ is still providing the secretariat

• The EU Water Working Group followed and supported the realization of the NWSS and will be at the forefront of donors intervention

EU INTERVENTIONS – Bilateral

• Financing Agreement under approval (AAP 2010)– Support to Infrastructure Sector Strategies & Alternative

Financing (SISSAF)of € 9 mio• Support to the Sectors of Energy, Water and Land Transport

– Support in fine tuning Sector Strategy

– Establish donor and stakeholder coordination

– Link the Sector Strategy with the National Budget

– Prepare and define bankable projects for financing

– Comply with eligibility criteria for Sector Budget Support

EU INTERVENTIONS – Bilateral

• Ongoing EIB Loans – WWTP Keserwan (NIF): €70 mio (03/04/2009)

• Construction of Plant, network financed by AfD/KfW

• NIMBY problem. Feasibility mission EIB ongoing

– WWTP Greater Beirut (Bourj Hammoud): €60 mio (28/12/2005)

• NIMBY problem. Feasibility study to start

– WWTP Tyr: €45 mio (20/07/2004)• Works ongoing. TA through FEMIP 2 times extended

– WWTP Tripoli: €100 mio (10/09/1997)• Works finalized but plant not fully operational as

– Missing link with network

– Heavy electricity bill

– No capacity for Operation & Maintenance by the WE

EU INTERVENTIONS – Regional

• SEMIDE/EMWIS– Lebanese DGs Vice Presidents

• Horizon 2020– MEHSIP/PPIF : feasibility for Al Ghadir WWTP– Capacity Building Mediterranean Environment

Programme (MEP)– Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS)

• Support to MED-EUWI• SWIM Project

THANK YOU