Sawt Beirut International (SBI) reporter Ibrahim Fatfat stood in front of the Mseilha Dam on Nahr El-Jawz river in Batroun and tried to convey his message.

The dam’s contract was awarded to Batco Company in 2013 and work at the site was slated to begin in 2017 for the purpose of securing more water for drinking and irrigation, which was estimated at the time at about 30 thousand cubic meters per day for the coasts of Batroun and Koura.

The project’s cost was 98 billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $65 million at the time, but after 4 years it became clear that the dam contains only 10% of the expected water flow.

The Mseilha Dam’s construction commenced without obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Environment and without an environmental and social impact assessment study and an economic feasibility study.

The project has obviously failed, and the residents of Batroun and Koura will be without water and also without electricity this summer, just like the rest of the Lebanese people.