Ramallah: The Head of Water Authority, Minister al-Mimi discussed today in the context of his meeting with Head of World Bank mission in Palestine, Mr. Stephan Emblad, water and sanitation projects currently implemented and funded by the World Bank, in addition to discussing steps towards improving the Palestinian water sector, and guaranteeing the sustainability of its services.
The meeting addressed the progress achieved in ongoing projects, particularly the accompanying works project, and Gaza Wastewater Management Project, which is advancing despite significant challenges, as well as Water Security and Resilience Program in the West Bank. They discussed preparation for the second phase project package of the program, which the Water Authority is preparing, in addition to the practical steps it is taking to build new water facilities in ten proposed areas, some of which have already received funding from donor parties to start building in the near future.
In this context, al-Mimi called on the World Bank to expand the scope of their support to include new priority projects, particularly the Water Authority’s efforts to build regional water utilities, in order to enhance the level of services provided, and achieve the financial sustainability of these facilities.
On his part, Mr. Emblad expressed his appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Water Authority teams in light of the current circumstances, especially in Gaza assuring the continuous support of the World Bank to priority projects the Authority implements to meet future needs.
During the meeting attended by the representatives of World Bank, Dr. Iyad al-Rimal, Head of water projects and infrastructure in Palestine, Michael Heeni, Head of water sector for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), expert staff, Mr. Louis Morant and Raneen Hassouneh from the project team, and from the Water Authority, Eng. Rawan Is’eed, the institutional expert, and Eng. Ibrahim al-Hindi, Head of water security program, discussed the most important results concluded by the mission through its field monitoring for the projects, and important recommendations to ensure implementation of projects within the established time frame, taking into consideration the difficulties the water sector is currently experiencing.