The Lebanese Army has completed the disposal of more than 4 tonnes of ammonium nitrate found at the entrance to the port of Beirut, the site of a massive blast in early August, according to the army’s statement obtained by Sputnik on Saturday. Four warehouses storing the dangerous chemical were discovered by the Lebanese military near entrance number nine earlier this week.
The statement said that a 4.35-tonne batch of ammonium nitrate discovered a few days ago in the port of Beirut has been disposed of.
The powerful blast in the port of the Lebanese capital that took place on August 4 left at least 190 people dead and 6,500 others injured. The explosion, which caused an estimated $15 billion in damages and prompted the country’s government to resign, has been blamed on the improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate by the port authorities.
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The World Bank has cancelled USD 224 million loans to the government of Lebanon for the proposed Bisri Dam Project because it failed to fulfil preconditions required before the funds were disbursed, the organization said in a press release.
The release said on Friday that the World Bank today notified the Government of Lebanon (GOL) of its decision to cancel the undisbursed funds under the Water Supply Augmentation Project (Bisri Dam Project) due to non-completion of the tasks that are preconditions to the commencement of construction of the Bisri Dam,” the release said on Friday.
“The cancelled portion of the loan is USD 244 million and the cancellation is effective immediately.” Lebanon failed to meet the Friday deadline to finalize the Ecological Compensation Plan and to mobilize a contractor at the dam project worksite, the release said. The government also failed to finalize operation and maintenance arrangements by August 24. The World Bank had raised these issues with Lebanon since January, as per the release.
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