2009 Infrastructure

PEGASE: Investing in infrastructure Improving access to basic services Access to water

A €3.75 million EU-funded project is bringing drinking water to 54,000 Palestinians in five villages in the areas of Nablus, Salfit and Hebron. In the past, these villages relied on water purchased at high prices from private tankers for their personal consumption and for their livestock. This project is managed by the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and has built a new water distribution network for four villages, and a new ground water reservoir near the village of Idhna in the Hebron governorate. Ihab Barghothi, director of the project unit of PWA said, “These projects are very important because they are addressing the needs of a community that had Years of conflict have meant that roads. The network also suffers no water services before. Now Palestinian public infrastructure and from chronic under-maintenance. the villagers have safe water at a systems offer limited coverage, are Through PEGASE, the EU contributed greatly reduced price.” of poor quality and unaffordable €2.8 million to the PRDP’s Road for many vulnerable sectors of the Improvement programme in 2008 to population. The Palestinian Recovery repair and build roads in the Qarawat and Development Plan (PRDP) Bani Hassan, Tulkarem, Jenin, Beit recognises that substantial investment Sahour and Surda municipalities. in public infrastructure is necessary for future economic growth and Ensuring reliable electricity supplies social stability. Through the PEGASE There is no integrated Palestinian mechanism, the EU supports a electricity network and existing number of major public infrastructure networks depend on Israeli electricity programmes in the areas of supplies. Palestinians pay high prices transport, electricity, water access, for unreliable electricity supplies, and wastewater treatment and solid waste some isolated villages have no access management. to the public network. A €11 million EU grant supports the PRDP Electricity Rebuilding and repairing roads Sector Investment programme and Almost half of the Palestinian road is repairing the electricity networks network is in a poor condition. The of 168 West Bank villages. This conflict has led to mobility restrictions, grant also provided emergency an increase in Israeli-only routes and equipment to the Gaza Strip following forced many vehicles onto unpaved the destruction of its electricity Infrastructure

settlements is discharged into the Protecting the environment in West Bank wadi systems without Hebron treatment. In Gaza, 60 per cent of wastewater is pumped directly into The Hebron District is home to the the sea. This poor infrastructure Palestinian marble industry, with poses a major risk to public health. over 66 per cent of Palestinian The EU is contributing €6 million to marble produced in this small area. a multi-donor scheme, the Northern The solid waste or sludge from Gaza Emergency Sewerage Treatment Project, to modernise existing marble production is dumped in facilities and to construct a new nearby fields destroying agricultural wastewater treatment plant that will land or in the sewerage system benefit 200,000 Gazans. damaging the network. The ‘Hagar’ (‘Stone’) project co-financed by infrastructure during the Gaza conflict Developing solid waste treatment the EU, the Hebron Municipality at the end of 2008 and beginning of capacity and Italian NGO Agenfor Italia 2009. The PRDP Solid Waste Management has built a new treatment plant to Providing access to water and Programme aims to provide recycle this marble sludge. Marble waste water treatment affordable and sustainable waste producers can now bring their management facilities to West Bank sludge to the plant, where it is Access to adequate supplies of clean municipalities and to bring an end converted to treated water that can drinking water and the treatment to the illegal dumping sites that scar be re-used by the industry, a heavy of wastewater are priorities for the Palestinian landscape and pollute water consumer. Jawad Sayyed the PRDP’s Water and Wastewater the environment. A €5.2 million EU Al-Herbawi, advisor to the mayor Management programme. Almost ten project is supplying equipment for per cent of Palestinian households and supervisor of the project said, the collection and treatment of solid “This plant is having a very positive have no access to running water, waste in 11 Palestinian governorates. environmental impact on the and those that do experience The EU has funded the construction of Hebron area. It provides the marble frequent interruptions to the water a pilot treatment plant in the Hebron supply and poor water volumes. area to recycle solid waste from the industry with a cost-effective way to Consumption rates are very low at marble industry. dispose of their waste and it means 60 litres per capita per day, almost they have a guaranteed source of half the recommended World Health Encouraging renewable energy water for marble production.” Organisation (WHO) rate. The EU provided €5.6 million for 7 projects to The EU is funding the first Palestinian supply drinking and domestic water wind energy project to provide over to the West Bank in 2008. 40% of the electricity needs of Al Ahli hospital, the largest healthcare Sewerage infrastructure is the least provider in the West Bank. A study developed of Palestinian public has been commissioned to explore infrastructure networks. Just 54 per the potential for wind energy across cent of households are connected region. The EU has also supported the to the public sewerage network, development of geothermal energy and only 40 per cent of wastewater through a regional programme (MED- is treated before it is discharged. ENEC). A third of wastewater from Israeli

European Commission Technical Assistance Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip P. O. Box 22207, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem Tel: +972 2 541 5888 Email: [email protected] Fax: +972 2 541 5848 2009 www.delwbg.ec.europa.eu