Bassil from Akoura: Love for people is real, and “October 17” blocked roads and Janna Dam in the region

The president of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, said in a speech he gave during a lunch organized by the Akoura Committee of the Movement, “When I arrived at the Ministry of Energy, the first decision I signed was related to water in Akoura,” pointing out that “Akoura is a Lebanese town with a history, and we have a responsibility to live up to that history, which none of us here can define.”
Bassil emphasized, “Love for the people and the region is not expressed in words but in deeds and belonging, which is an act of faith. When I arrived in this region, it was my duty to do what I did, and the former director of the Mount Lebanon Water Authority, Jean Gebran, did what he had to do.” He pointed out that “we arrived in a region where there were no reservoirs, no wells, and no water.”
He added, “When we had representatives in the Movement in the Byblos district, we followed up and achieved a lot, thanks to our strong presence in the Parliament and the government. We built three roads connecting the coast of Byblos to its hinterland, including the road from Deir Mar Maroun Anaya to Aakoura, which we constructed in three stages.”
He explained, “The protests broke out on October 17 and halted work on the third phase of the road. The second phase aims to reach the town of Akoura. We had secured approximately three million dollars for this purpose, and we also submitted a draft law to that effect in Parliament, but it was rejected. The third phase of the road connects Miroba to the area of Akoura, and most of this segment has been completed, with only 700 meters remaining unfinished due to land expropriation issues.”
He continued: “In addition, there is the road from Laqlouq to Tannourine El-Fawqa, and from Tannourine El-Fawqa to Tannourine El-Tahta. These are roads that connect the highlands of Jbeil to Batroun. We also connected Batroun to Hadath El-Jebbeh, but work on these projects was halted because of October 17.”
Bassil emphasized that “these roads are essential because they help us connect the town to the coast at Byblos completely, as roads are the foundation for all development, and we cannot discuss development without the necessary and essential transportation.”
Bassil affirmed that “the Al-Laqlouq-Akoura road is as important as the Al-Laqlouq-Tannourine and Tannourine Al-Faouqa and Tannourine Al-Tahta roads, and it is my duty to complete the work on them.”
Bassil spoke about the Jannah Dam, noting that “it would have provided 140 megawatts of electricity, meaning it would have supplied power to more than the Jbeil district, and the dam would also have promoted tourism.”
He stressed that “the dam should have been completed,” adding: “The region has been deprived, especially since construction was halted at a certain stage, and there are those who openly declared stopping the work on it. This dam provides 98 million cubic meters of water to Jbeil, Keserwan, and Beirut, but they were not ashamed to stop the project.”