With the construction of the Bisri dam, the Lebanese government aims to reduce the chronic water shortages that still affect the country. According to the World Bank, the dam will provide the 1.6 million people who live across the Greater Beirut & Mount Lebanon (GBML) with better access to water. It will especially increase the purchasing power of the 460,000 people of this region who live on less than $4 a day by reducing reliance on water bottles and tanks.