Iaat Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater treatment, 12,000 m3/day design capacity; up to 8,000 m3/day treated at project closing in 2012 in Lebanon.
Operational
The record
- Country
- Lebanon
- Location
- Iaat
- Coordinates
- 34.049, 36.145
- Technology
- Wastewater treatment
- Capacity
- 12,000 m3/day design capacity; up to 8,000 m3/day treated at project closing in 2012
- Capital cost
- US$49.63 m is the cost of the whole Ba'albeck Water and Wastewater Project, not the plant alone; the plant has operated since 2011, and in August 2026 the Environment Ministry said it had stopped and was awaiting repair, while the Energy Ministry listed it as operating (Annahar)
- Stage
- Operational
- Owner or client
- Council for Development and Reconstruction
- Contractor
- —
- Operator
- Bekaa Water Establishment
- Finance
- World Bank
- Award or start year
- 2002
- Commissioned
- 2011
Record last checked 2026-10-16.
History
- 2002-06
World Bank approves the Ba'albeck Water and Wastewater Project on 4 June
- 2009
Plant starts then halts on influent of 300 to 700 m3/d against a 2,000 m3/d minimum
- 2010
All connections complete but only about 1,500 m3/d reaches the plant
- 2011
Regular operations begin after reconciliation with farmers
- 2012-06
Project closes on 15 June with up to 8,000 m3/day treated
- 2020
Bekaa Water Establishment announces it cannot operate the plant to required standards
- 2026-08
Environment Ministry says the plant stopped earlier and funds are being sought to repair and restart it
Sources
13 references
Every field in the record above is taken from the references below. A field that none of them confirms prints as a dash.
- World Bank, Lebanon Ba'albeck Water and Wastewater Project, Implementation Completion and Results Report (12 Dec 2012). documents.worldbank.org.
- The Iaat plant did not start operations until the sewerage network was complete in late 2009, then stopped because it received only 300 to 700 m3/d against an operational minimum of 2,000 m3/d for a plant designed for 12,000 m3/d; all connections were complete by 2010 but an average of only 1,500 m3/d reached the plant; regular operations commenced in 2011 after reconciliation with farmers who had irrigated with untreated wastewater; at project closing the plant was receiving and treating up to 8,000 m3/day.
- The plant itself was built under the earlier Emergency Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project, so the budget figure covers the network and operations project.
- World Bank, project detail P074042. projects.worldbank.org.
- Board approval 4 June 2002, closing 15 June 2012, project cost US$49.63 million.
- Karim Eid-Sabbagh, Water Alternatives 16(2) (2023). water-alternatives.org.
- Records the plant as World Bank funded for the Baalbek area, designed with reuse in mind but with no reuse network funded, and carries the Bekaa Water Establishment's 2020 statement.
- Coordinates from OpenStreetMap.
- Condition after 2020 was not established, and Baalbek was heavily struck during the 2024 conflict.
- Karim Eid-Sabbagh, Wastewater Reuse in Lebanon, Water Alternatives 16(2) (2023). water-alternatives.org.
- The Iaat plant was designed with the possibility of reuse, though no funds were allocated for a reuse network.
- Annahar, 19 August 2026 (in Arabic). annahar.com.
- MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
The Environment Ministry told the paper the Iaat plant had stopped earlier and that there were efforts and funds to repair and restart it, while the Energy Ministry's list of 35 operating plants includes Iaat.