Saadnayel Nuclear Power Station

Saadnayel Nuclear Power Station (Arabic: محطة الطاقة النووية بسعدنايل maḥaṭṭat aṭ-ṭāqah an-nũwīyah bi-sa‘adnãyil) was a two-reactor nuclear power plant located in the Lebanese municipality of Zahlé, which provided nearly half of Lebanon's electric power as well as much of the power used by the Syrian capital of Damascus and its surrounding urban area and parts of northern Jordan and Palestine. In its heyday, it employed nearly 2000 personnel, and was thus a major staple of the regional economy.

Construction began on the Saadnayel plant in 1979, and operations commenced in early 1985. Following the opening in March 2016 of the over-three-times larger Adra Nuclear Power Station near Damascus, Saadnayel was decommissioned. The former Saadnayel site is now home to Zahlé International Airport, which was opened on 1 March 2019. As all radioactive waste produced by the former nuclear power station was disposed of hundreds of kilometres away under the Syrian desert, the site was free of radioactive contamination following the closure of Saadnayel, allowing for the airport to be safely opened to the public.