I have a soft spot for economic development and construction projects, so I decided to share with you the latest projects to be tendered with construction work possible starting in a neighborhood near you:
- Construction of 3 Solid Waste Treatment Facilities in 3 Areas: Tripoli, Michmich and Hbaline
- Advanced Information and Communication Technology Training for Public Sector Employees
- Construction of a Water Reservoir, Water Distribution Networks, and Drilling of 2 New Boreholes Bent Jbeil and the Nabatiyeh Districts
The first two are handled by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) while the third falls under the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). Interestingly, all three are directly funded by the Lebanese government – no World Bank or Kuwait Fund here.
The training tender reminds me of a story my professor at AUB had told me. He worked for the Ministry of Telecommunications during the 90s when they decided to move towards computerized systems. Of course, with the average age of a government employee in their 50s, no one knew what the equipment did. They just couldn’t comprehend how a mouse works and some even thought the monitors were television sets. It goes to show you how important training is when dealing with a public sector operated and run by senior citizens.