BEIRUT, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said on Sunday that Germany's Siemens did not submit an offer to the Lebanese government to build power stations in Lebanon.
"We did not refuse an offer by Siemens to build power stations in Lebanon and the company did not submit such an offer as it was reported by the media," he was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
"The only thing that has happened in this area is that Siemens made such a suggestion but it withdrew it later on," the minister added.
Abi Khalil's remarks came following an audio going viral online, which was recorded by lawmaker Yassin Jaber claiming that the government refused an offer by Siemens to build power stations in Lebanon to solve the electricity crisis.
Lack of electricity in Lebanon has been a problem for many years, as the government is incapable of generating the needed amount of power.
Successive governments failed over the years to build power stations to solve the electricity problem in Lebanon.
The government has resorted instead to supplying Lebanon with electricity from Turkish power barges docked off shore which cost more than producing it on land.
