Kuwait to meet $200m pledge to rebuild Gaza

Palestinian deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mohammad Mustafa yesterday signed an agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Resources fulfilling Kuwait’s $200 million pledge to rebuild the Gaza Strip, the Anadolu Agency reported.

According to the agreement, which was signed by the Economic Adviser for the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Tariq Al-Manees, the Palestinian government will carry out reconstruction projects including housing units and infrastructure and rehabilitation developments in the water, economy and agriculture sectors in the Gaza Strip over the course of two years.

The reconstruction programmes will be implemented through the Ministry of Public works and Housing, Local Governance, Water Authority, Ministry of National Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture, each according to its area of expertise.

Kuwait announced that it will fulfil its pledge to the Palestinian side on 23 March, following Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s visit to Kuwait.

The housing sector will receives a total of $75 million to be allocated to provide refugees, whose homes were completely destroyed during the Israeli offensive, new residences by building a total of 1,500 units in all cities.

As for the water sector, $60 million is to be paid to establish a water network of 20 kilometres in order to meet Gaza’s needs of drinking water. The network’s capacity is estimated at around 110 million cubic metres. The water rehabilitation project will also include building seven tanks with a capacity of 5,000 cubic metres as well as six pumping stations.

Meanwhile, the infrastructure sector will receive a total of $35 million allocated for rebuilding the infrastructure of municipalities, facilities and industrial zones by aiding in the rehabilitation of roads, water networks, power and industrial buildings.

The economic sector will receive $12.5 million to activate the economy and productivity in fields of industry, agriculture and livestock. The grant will enable the reconstructions of factories’ infrastructure, purchasing of equipment, setting up around 0.3 square kilometres of green houses and 176 animal barns.

Another $7 million will be allocated to civil society institutions through supporting programmes in the fields of health and education, which includes purchasing equipment and construction materials to build educational and health institutions.

In October last year, international donors pledged $5.4 billion to aid in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip following a 51-day Israeli war that left hundreds of thousands homeless and killed around 2,200 residents, most of whom were unarmed civilians.