CMWU's participation in opening the second and third phases of the seawater desalination plant south of Gaza, funded by the European Union, to serve about 250,000 people.
CMWU Participates in the Opening Ceremony of the Second and Third Phases of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant
Gaza – CMWU
Under the patronage of Minister Mazen Ghanem, Chairman of the Water Authority, Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and Thomas Nicholson, Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union, CMWU participated in the opening ceremony of the second and third phases of the seawater desalination plant south of the Gaza Strip, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNICEF, in cooperation with the Palestinian Water Authority and CMWU, with the presence of numerous mayors and representatives of national and international institutions.
In his speech, Mr. Thomas Nicholson said that providing clean drinking water and a safe sewage network is one of the most important human rights the European Union works to secure for the residents of the Gaza Strip, hence the importance of the plant, which will provide clean drinking water for more than a quarter of a million people, residents of Rafah and Khan Younis cities, calling for the necessity of improving the living and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
In his speech, Mladenov said that the plant, in its first phase, provides safe water for more than 75,000 people, and with the opening of the second and third phases, safe water will be provided for about 250,000 more people, considering the opening of the new phases an example of the important joint work carried out by the UN, UNICEF, the European Union, the Palestinian Authority, and partner institutions, in order to confront basic humanitarian problems and work to bring about change in them.
In turn, Water Authority Chairman Minister Mazen Ghanem said in his speech that the Palestinian National Authority allocated 5 dunums for use in constructing the solar power project, which will be able to operate 30% of this plant, noting that this project is vital and important for the residents of the Gaza Strip, expressing his hope that the construction of the plant's solar power station would be completed during the coming year, thanking UNICEF for constructing that plant and working to sustain its operation, noting that this project represents a good model of Palestinian and international cooperation.
Minister Ghanem drew attention to the fact that the most important and strategic project is represented in the main desalination plant, work on which began despite all the challenges. He explained that more than 81% of the funding allocated to it at the donor conference, which amounts to about $700 million, has been secured, noting that he visited a number of projects in central and southern Gaza Strip, and that these projects have become present on the ground and coordination is underway with all partners in order to work on operating them and announcing the end of the catastrophic environmental crisis in Gaza.
Ghanem called on UN Coordinator Mladenov to pressure the occupation to speed up the entry of materials and individuals in order to facilitate activating these projects and stop the suffering of Gaza's residents, holding the occupation directly responsible for the crisis in the West Bank and Gaza and the financial, water, and geographic siege on the Strip.
