Brussels, 03/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Arab countries have committed, under the aegis of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), to covering half the costs of the water desalination project in Gaza, conceived under the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). This announcement was made on the sidelines of World Water Week, which took place in Stockholm on 26-31 August. The project was presented there by the deputy secretary general of the UfM, Rafiq Husseini, and a representative from the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Shaddad Attili. Among those attending the presentation was Ioannis Kaltsas, on behalf of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB has already offered financing for technical assistance in promoting the project and attracting contributors.
The project, which should be delivered in 2020, has been officially retained by the secretariat general of the UfM amongst its priority actions. The objective is to install a treatment capacity of 100 million m3 for the benefit of 1.6 million inhabitants from the Gaza Strip (2.1 million in 2020 with an estimated demand of 260 million m3 at this point.) (FB/transl.fl)