In his opening statement on the occasion of launching the construction of the new sanitary landfill in the Southern Gaza, H.E. Dr. Hussain Al-A’raj, Minister of Local Government and Chairman of the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF), highlighted the strategic importance of the Gaza Solid Waste Management Project (Gaza SWMP) that will serve about half of the population in the Gaza Strip (800,000). The civil works contract that was signed today is the key milestone of a programme aiming at improving solid waste management services and disposal in Gaza Strip Governorates of Khan Younis, Rafah, and Middle Area. Dr. Tawfiq Al-Budeiri, MDLF Director General, informed that the contract for constructing the new sanitary landfill at Al-Fukhari in the Southern Gaza Strip was awarded to a Consortium of Palestinian and Greek construction companies (Masoud & Ali and Partners Contracting Company & Mesogeos Contracting Commercial Real Estate Societe) for an amount of EURO 8.8 million.

The MDLF is implementing the Gaza SWMP on behalf of the Palestinian National Authority in cooperation with the Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management in Gaza’s southern region. The sanitary landfill construction contract is financed by the European Union (EU), the French Development Agency (AFD), and the World Bank. The sanitary landfill is the first infrastructure of this kind in the Gaza Strip, the design of which builds on the lessons learned from similar solid waste management projects in the West Bank (Al-Minya and Zahrat Al-Finjan) over the last decade.

The Gaza SWMP is a multi-donor funded project of US$ 35 million. The design was financed by a generous grant from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the implementation is financed by a pool of grants from the World Bank, the EU and France. A small grant is also provided from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Infrastructure administered by the World Bank. It is a comprehensive strategic infrastructure and capacity building project targeting the middle and southern Gaza Strip; an area comprising 64% of Gaza Strip’s total geographic area and inhabited by 46% of the total Gaza Strip’s population.

The new sanitary landfill will be built on an area of 215 donums equivalent to 21.5 hectares. The engineering design includes major excavation, lining systems, and leachate collection systems is planned to be implemented within a 22 month period and in accordance with international design standards. The Gaza SWMP also supports a capacity building component of the Joint Services Council for SWM for Khan Younis, Rafah and Middle Area (JSC-KRM) as well as the participating municipalities to improve service provision at the different solid waste management and service delivery chain. Another contract for the supply of new solid waste collection vehicles to the JSC-KRM and member municipalities had already been signed on 22 May, 2016 in the amount of EURO 1.29 million. The purchased equipment (7 compactors and 3 roll-on/off) are expected to be delivered before the end of October. Moreover, studies and investments in recycling and resource recovery are being organised to promote the participation of the Palestinian private sector, and broad public outreach and public awareness activities for the involvement and participation of the population.