The World Bank said on Friday it had cancelled its $244 million loan for the Water Supply Augmentation Project (Bisri Dam Project), effective immediately.
"The decision to cancel the Lebanese loan will take effect immediately due to the failure to complete the necessary tasks to build the dam", the World Bank said in a statement.
The construction of the dam has been suspended partially since late June, as the World Bank has been concerned about certain issues undermining the project's implementation. It extended the deadline for the Lebanese government till 4 September to deal with the issues, but the authorities failed to meet the deadline, the World Bank said.
The Bisri Dam was to be located in South Lebanon and store 125 million cubic meters of water, with the aim of addressing the country's water scarcity and providing local residents with jobs.
