| Project Detail |
Project Development Objective
19. Improve the quality and quantity of bulk water supplied to the municipalities served in the project area and to
strengthen the capacity of the Palestinian Water Authority.
PDO Level Indicators
20. The achievement of the PDO will be assessed using the following indicators:
a. The Gaza BWSU is established and is operational.
b. Volume of bulk water supplied by the BWSU to benefiting municipalities.
c. Percentage of bulk water samples meeting the quality standards set by WHO for potable water.
d. BWSU bulk water quality report published biannually by PWA.
e. National Service Providers’ Improvement Program is designed and approved.
B. Project Components
21. The project comprises three components which will: (i) build the necessary water infrastructure for improved
bulk water supply by conveying and blending water from various sources in the southern and middle
governorates; (ii) build capacity to improve the performance of selected institutions; and (iii) provide project
management and implementation support. The three components are described below.
Component 1: Improved Supply of Bulk Water to the Southern and Middle Governorates of Gaza
(Estimated cost US$91.0 million)
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22. Component 1 comprises four packages to implement an integrated system of bulk water carriers and reservoirs
to convey and blend water from three different sources to achieve the desired salinity (see map in Annex 5),
and partially respond to the drinking water quality crisis in the southern and middle governorates of Gaza.
Packages 1.1 and 1.2 are financed and supervised by a parallel grant from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic
Development (KFAED) in the amount of US$58 million equivalent.
a. Package 1.1: Southern Main Carrier System (US$48.0 million) will enhance the capacity for blending,
storage and bulk supply of drinking water to Rafah and Khan Younis Governorates. This package is being
tendered and implementation will likely start in early 2020; implementation is expected to be completed
by mid-2023.
b. Package 1.2: Additional Water Supply Network Improvement Works for Middle Gaza and Khan Younis
Governorates (US$10.0 million) will increase the capacity to effectively utilize the 10 MCM/year of fresh
water purchased from Israel at Bani Said and Bani Suhaila connection points. Implementation started in
June 2019 and is expected to be completed by December 2020.
c. Package 1.3: Reconfiguration of the water distribution system in the Southern Gaza Governorate
(US$27.0 million) and Package 1.4: Reconfiguration of the water distribution system in the Middle Gaza
Governorate (US$6.0 million) will reconfigure the municipal primary distribution networks where they
connect with the new bulk water system to enable them to receive and effectively distribute the blended
bulk water. These two packages will be funded jointly from the Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank
(TFGWB) and Partnership for Infrastructure Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund (PID MDTF). The
detailed design and tender documents for both packages were prepared in late 2017 and need to be
revised. Tendering is planned in the first quarter of 2020 with activity implementation period of 30
months and 18 months, respectively.
Component 2: Capacity Building and Performance Improvement of Selected Institutions (Estimated cost
US$9.5 million)
23. This component is designed primarily to create adequate capacity to ensure operations and
maintenance of the STLVs during project implementation and subsequently during the O&M of the integrated
bulk water supply system supported by the project. This component will also support the design of a National
Service Provider Improvement Program (NSPIP) to improve service delivery in the West Bank and Gaza, and
reduce the need for sector subsidies, as well as to prepare priority bulk water investments in the West Bank.
This component will be jointly funded from TFGWB and PID MDTF.
a. Sub-component 2.1: Establishment of a unit to operate bulk water supply in Gaza (US$1.0 million) will
fund the design and implementation of an action plan establishing a unit that would over the
implementation period of this project take on gradual responsibility for: (i) operation and maintenance
of the STLVs; (ii) monitoring and management of bulk water purchases from Israel; (iii) management and
operation of groundwater wells in the middle and southern Gaza governorates to be utilized for
blending; (iv) blending of these bulk water sources for distribution and onward sale to municipalities (the
SPs); and (v) billing and collection (on behalf of PWA) for bulk water sales to municipalities. In line with
PWA’s long-term plan to create the NWC, this unit will eventually scale up its role and responsibilities to
be the Gaza nucleus of the NWC envisaged in the 2014 Water Law. As part of the establishment of the
Bulk Water Supply Unit, opportunities for female employment will be explored and enhanced to utilize
the untapped resource that highly educated and skilled women represent.12 This sub-component will
also fund a study of the impact on private water vendors’ livelihoods and potential mitigation measures.
b. Sub-component 2.2: Design of a National Service Provider Improvement Program (US$2.5 million) will
fund the design of a national program to improve the operational and financial performance of service
providers across the WB&G. The NSPIP will set out a framework of incentives that will: (i) support SPs to
move up the performance ladder; (ii) separate water service provision from other municipal services; (iii)
where appropriate, support clustering of SPs to achieve economies of scale and work towards the
establishment of regional utilities; and (iv) promote future public-private partnerships (PPPs) to the
extent feasible, either through performance-based contracts to reduce NRW, meter reading, billing and
collection, or more comprehensive management contracts. As part of the development of NSPIP, pilot
measures for improving cost recovery will be tested in: (a) the municipalities in Gaza targeted by the infrastructure improvements supported through Component 1; and (b) selected service providers in the
West Bank. This sub-component will include support for municipalities to engage consumers in the
process, and to ensure that consumers’ voices are represented in the policy discussions on how to
develop the NSPIP. It will also include training, complemented with technical assistance to municipalities,
on engaging with water consumers. Linked to these actions, representatives of women’s groups will be
consulted on the design of the NSPIP and opportunities for empowering young women across the water
supply and sanitation value chain will be explored through innovative partnerships with the private
sector.
c. Sub-component 2.3: Priority investment planning for bulk water supply in the West Bank (US$6.0 million)
will finance: (i) updating the water sector policy and strategy; (ii) preparing an integrated bulk water
master plan for the West Bank, which will identify and prioritize investments to set up a bulk water
supply and conveyance system for the West Bank; and (iii) preparing detailed designs and Environmental
and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for the identified priority investments related to distribution of
water.
Component 3: Project Management and Implementation Support (Estimated cost US$16.5 million)
24. This component is designed to support effective implementation of the project and provide funds to ensure
continued operations of vital water assets in Gaza and comprises four sub-components: (i) project management;
(ii) project supervision; and (iii) incremental operation and maintenance costs of bulk water operations in Gaza.
This component will be jointly funded from TFGWB and PID MDTF, with US$2 million funded through a parallel
grant from KFAED for sub-component 3.2
a. Sub-component 3.1: Project management (US$3.2 million) will support PWA to implement the project
through a Project Management and Support Unit (PMSU). It will finance, inter alia: (i) resettlement
compensation costs and expenses associated with the implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan
(RAP) for the project; (ii) salaries of PMSU staff (with retroactive provision); (iii) PMSU operating costs;
(iv) provision of reasonable office equipment; (v) consultant services to support technical reviews and
implementation of environmental and social safeguards; and (vi) overall project management,
monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
b. Sub-component 3.2: Project supervision (US$3.6 million, of which US$2.0 million financed through a
parallel grant from KFAED) will support the procurement of an independent international Project
Implementation Consultant (PIC) who will provide technical assistance on procurement process and will
supervise the implementation of construction contracts.13
c. Sub-component 3.3: Incremental operations and maintenance costs (US$9.7 million) will support on a
declining basis the new bulk water supply unit in Gaza, inter alia: (i) salaries and incremental operating
costs of the BWSU; (ii) cost of STLVs’ consumables (including fuel, lab testing kits, chemicals, cartridge
filters, and membrane replacement); and (iii) maintenance costs |
