What’s in the Capital Investment Plan?

Judging a book by its cover may no longer be common lingo in the digital age, but it seems to be exactly what Lebanon is hoping people will do ahead of the CEDRE investment conference scheduled for early April in Paris: Never mind the details; be impressed by the dazzling overall figures and exciting projects. At CEDRE, Lebanon plans to pitch its development program, the Capital Investment Plan (CIP), to investors in order to finance the rehabilitation of infrastructure that has degraded over the last few decades because of low state investment and overloaded use. For the most part, investments pledged at Paris could become reality—if the Lebanese state fulfills longstanding, half-hearted promises of reforms. The proposed list of reforms continues to evolve and grow in length, but in general includes changes to legal frameworks, fiscal discipline, and the regulatory environment. The consensus Executive has gathered ahead of CEDRE is