Lebanese government approves new investor to handle mail service
The Lebanese government has approved a deal for a local investor to replace a Canadian firm to run Lebanon’s ailing postal system.
SNC-Lavalin opted out of a BOT contract in May, saying revenues were not up to its expectations.
On Thursday, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said the new investor would not be able to abruptly terminate the new contract.
He did not name the company nor the money paid for SNC-Lavalin’s share by the new investor.
On Friday, the English-language Daily Star newspaper said the replacement was local investment bank, Lebanon Invest.
The bank was expected to replace SNC-Lavalin in LibanPost, a Canadian-Lebanese consortium that won in 1998 the contract to build and operate the service before transferring it to the government after 12 years.
The Daily Star said the Canadian investor sustained losses of around dlrs 20 million. It added that Lebanon Invest will replace SNC-Lavalin for an estimated sum of dlrs 12 million.
CanadaPost System Management, which has been operating the mail system for LibanPost since 1998, will remain and work with the new investor.
Lebanon’s mail system was devastated by the 1975-1990 civil war.
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AP WORLDSTREAM, 31st August 2001
