BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a €7.1 million technical assistance grant to the Palestinian Water Authority to help progress the Gaza Desalination Programme.
Currently, two million Palestinians in Gaza rely on a coastal aquifer as their source of fresh water with 170 million cubic metres extracted per year.
However, over 95 percent of the water extracted does not meet the WHO drinking water quality standards and is considered unfit for consumption.
The desalination development is expected to help with regeneration of the coastal aquifer, as well as reduce “pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
Capacity of the project is expected to be 150,000 m3/day and it will use reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.
To date, support for the desalination development has been shown by the European Commission, the Union for the Mediterranean, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, as well as bilateral donors.
The Islamic Development Bank has signalled support for 50 percent of the total $455 million project costs.
Dario Scannapieco, vice-president of EIB, said: “The provision of safe and clean water is vital for the more than two million people living in Gaza. This will help to improve people’s daily lives, reduce pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean and create local economic development and new employment opportunities.”
The EIB has worked with the Palestinian Water Authority over the past seven years and will launch the tendering procedure for the provision of technical assistance on 15 April.
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