World Bank Approves US $10m to Sustain Wastewater Treatment Services in Palestine

Gaza, MINA – The World Bank approves a US $10m grant to finance the operation and maintenance of the North Gaza wastewater treatment plant for four years and build the conditions for sustainable wastewater treatment services in Palestine.

In line with previous partnerships, the new Wastewater Management Sustainability Project will be granted an additional US $3.7m by donor partners; members of the Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID MDTF) administered by the World Bank. Construction Review Online reported, on Saturday, June 13.

According to Kanthan Shankar, World Bank Country Director for West Bank and Gaza, Gaza has suffered for years from environmental disaster due to sewage pollution affecting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The new project builds on the World Bank and donor partners’ extended efforts to complete the long-awaited construction of the North Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“Now, the new project focuses on operating and maintaining the treatment plant while gradually building the institutional capacity for sustainable self-management,” he said.

Mitigating environmental health and safety threats in the Gaza strip.

The new project is a continuation of the World Bank’s long-standing intervention in the wastewater sector, driven by the goal of mitigating environmental health and safety threats in the Gaza strip.

The construction of the North Gaza emergency treatment plant is a response to the untreated effluent collected by four municipalities and discharged in North of the Beit Lahia area.

The amount of sewage had increased over years causing floods, casualties, injuries, and asset damage to the surrounding population.

The treatment plant built under the World Bank project allows an effective solution to wastewater effluents, prevents the degradation of the aquifer, and mitigates flood risks. (T/RS2/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)