The perseverance of the Lebanese University Team in the AQUACYCLE Partnership finally paid off. The drawing up of the tender for the construction of my pilot demonstration unit in Deddeh, south of Tripoli had been a highly time-consuming effort. Every nut and bolt in my design had to be described and included in a bill of quantities, together with its estimated cost.  This already daunting challenge was then met with yet another obstacle, as Lebanon woke up to a grave financial crisis. The Joint Technical Secretariat of the ENI CBC Med Programme lost no time to come to the rescue with an array of possible solutions, yet it took considerable time and effort to put in place a robust agreement between the Lebanese University and the country’s Central Bank to overcome the impasse. You will surely understand my excitement when learning the tender had indeed been issued!

Still more good news came through with the announcement that the minimum required set of three bids for my construction had been deposited in the Lebanese University’s tender box.  The tender offers were opened in the presence of the Dean of the Doctoral School of Science and Technology at the Lebanese University, Dr. Fawaz ElOmar (seated central in the photo below), the members of the AQUACYCLE team at the Lebanese University, and representatives of the 3 companies which submitted their respective offers within the deadline.

Official opening ceremony of the tender offers for my construction in Lebanon

The more advantageous bid proved to have been submitted by the Modon Group and hence the tender award was officially signed off to the Modon Group by the Dean, Dr. Fawaz ElOmar, the Scientific Director, Dr. Ahmad ElMoll, and the Administrative Director, Dr. Mohamad Khalil. The Modon Group offers a large range of mechanical, electrical and renewable energy products and services to its customers.

A site visit, followed by a meeting organized by the Lebanese University, demonstrated a strong willingness on the part of the Modon Group to make every effort to facilitate and speed up the work.

Location of the site at Deddeh, south of Tripoli, Lebanon and its current layout

The site visit was purposely organized to permit a delegation from the Modon Group, led by its General Manager, Ahmad Saleh, to familiarize themselves with the layout of the site. Their initial assignment is to come up with a detailed timeline of preliminary site works. At the same time, the visit created the opportunity for Engineer Ghassan Fakhoury, on behalf of TechUniversal, to inspect the existing wastewater treatment plant on the site and to discuss an action plan for its rehabilitation in coordination with the Modon Group.

Exchanging viewpoints of required site works

Following on the site visit, a meeting with the Modon Group was organized at the Doctoral School of Science and Technology at the Lebanese University in the presence of Engineer Ammar Ayoubi, representing Deddeh Municipality.

During this meeting, the attendees foremost agreed on the importance of delivering on the initial assignment as soon as possible. First in line will be a topographic survey of the site, followed by the levelling of the site and the rehabilitation of the site’s retention walls.

My constructers in Lebanon agree on a speedy timeline of actions

The attendees also unanimously agreed about the importance of having frequent communication among all the parties concerned, including the Deddeh Municipality. The Lebanese University was represented by Dr. Mohamad Khalil, Tawfik Al-Naboulsi, Fatima Yahya, Omar Nachar, Khoder Khalil and Joyce Kreidi.

The previous entry in AQUACYCLE’s logbook can be accessed through this link.

The first 12 entries in AQUACYCLE’s logbook were published in February 2022, which can be downloaded from this link.