Basic info

Description of the project:

Rationale and objective of project

• The project aims to support and reinforce the operations of public facilities in Greater Beirut mainly “Civil Defence” (CD) centres located in Beirut and Furn El Chebbak and the Municipality of Beirut, all of them operating under the mandate of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM). The project will enhance the provision of protection, firefighting and municipal services largely deteriorated due to the unprecedented financial crisis in Lebanon.  

• The protracted economic and financial crises in Lebanon have put their devastating marks on the overall performance of the country leading to a nearly completely paralyzed public sector. With the devaluation of the Lebanese Lira and the unprecedented inflation rates, the average salary within the public sector went down from 1,000 USD to almost 40 USD. In addition, the budget and savings of the public institutions being in the Lebanese Currency were depleted. This has significantly impacted the quantity and quality of services provided by public institutions where public-sector employees working in ministries and other governmental entities reduced severely their attendance to work as their wages can barely cover transportation expenses. The financial situation of the government and public sector aggravated substantially in the reduction of national and local revenues collected through fees and taxes forcing the government to borrow money every now and then from the Central Bank to be able to pay the salaries of the public sector.  

• The Civil Defense (CD) was among the public institutions that were heavily impacted by this situation. Since 2021, the yearly budget allocated for the services and response provided by the Civil Defence was severely reduced. Currently, 80% of the CD fleet is non-functional due to the lack of maintenance while the remaining 20% is not utilized due to lack of fuel. In addition, the CD centres, operating with minimal electric power which affected the services provided by the centres. In brief, the worsened response of the Civil Defense to fires and accidents could lead to increased losses in people’s lives as well in the natural and physical resources of the country. 
• In parallel, the municipalities and local authorities in Lebanon were on the front lines in the face of the economic crisis. Similar to the Lebanese Civil Defense, the municipalities suffered with hyperinflation, depreciating currency and a banking system in disarray. The Municipalities found themselves struggling to afford the bare minimum of their operation costs with almost all of them are facing scarcity in energy and fuel. This led them some municipalities to significantly reduce their operations which was also accompanied with a drop of their staff due to the devaluation of the salaries. As a result, the basic and municipal services were affected tremendously which became increasingly challenging to deliver.  
• The prospective of these public facilities seems to be uncertain especially after the Hamas-Israel war which broke out in 7-October 2023 and its spillover towards Lebanon which could lead to a potential full-scale war. This security situation if escalated, could put the already scarce resources and capacities of the public facilities in Lebanon to the risk of total collapse. As of 1 November 2023, a total of 25,7081 individuals have been displaced from South Lebanon to other parts of the country due to the ongoing armed clashes. This will pose further challenges and burdens on the host municipalities. On October 31 2023, Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister, stated that over 40,000 olive trees were burned with banned white phosphorous bombs. 

• The proposed project suggests equipping two CD centres in Greater Beirut area and the Municipality of Beirut to strengthen civil protection, firefighting interventions, municipal and basic services. The project will supply and install photovoltaic systems to alleviate the energy crisis faced by these public facilities. A rapid survey was conducted early this year to identify needs and challenges of the Civil Defense and the Municipality of Beirut. Another opportunity worth investigating, is connecting the streetlight network surrounding these facilities to the solar system to ensure continuous operation during evenings. 

• The project will start with a set of technical assessments for the facilities of the Civil Defense in Greater Beirut and of the Municipality of Beirut. These assessments characterized with energy audit will be followed up with the design of the solar systems based on the needs, then the tendering and procurement phase and finally with the implementation. 

• Both the Lebanese Civil Defense and the Municipality of Beirut provide services to the host/refugee community including women without any discrimination. The Lebanese Civil Defense operates on a voluntary basis from both genders and provide rescue and firefighting operations to all members of the community equally. As a result, both genders will have equal access to an improved municipal and basic services, safety, emergency response and rescue operations.