CMWU Opens Al-Muntar Reservoir East of Gaza City

Funded by the Federal Republic of Germany

CMWU Opens Al-Muntar Reservoir East of Gaza City

Gaza - CMWU, in cooperation with Gaza Municipality, organized the opening and commissioning ceremony of Al-Muntar reservoir east of Gaza city, funded by the Federal Republic of Germany through the German Development Bank, in the presence of Dr. Majed Awni Abu Ramadan, Chairman of CMWU's Board of Directors, Mr. Peter Bierwirth, Head of the German Representative Office in Palestinian territory, Water Authority Chairman Minister Eng. Mazen Ghanem, Minister of Public Works and Housing Dr. Mofid Al-Hasayna, CMWU's Director-General Eng. Monther Shoblaq, and Eng. Nihad Al-Mughanni, Director of Planning and Development at Gaza Municipality.

In his opening speech, Dr. Majed Awni Abu Ramadan welcomed the attendees, expressing his sincere thanks to the German government, the Water Authority, and all supporters and contributors to the success of this project and all the Utility's projects, affirming that Al-Muntar reservoir project would contribute to increasing water quality and improving the delivery of the service to residents of Gaza city.

He noted that the project represents a qualitative addition to the projects implemented by the Utility, given the reservoir's strategic location and its capacity to absorb large quantities of water and distribute them to the city's residents.

In the speech of the German Representative Office in Palestinian territory, Mr. Peter spoke about the importance of this reservoir for residents of Gaza city, which holds large quantities of water that are desalinated and re-pumped to areas with high salinity, expressing his great admiration for the Utility's prominent efforts in completing this project and other projects implemented in cooperation with the KfW institution.

He noted the German government's keenness and continuation in supporting projects targeting the improvement of water and sanitation services in the Gaza Strip, affirming that Germany will always remain a development partner in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and that this reservoir is considered one of the numerous projects through which Germany helps improve the difficult living conditions of the population in the Gaza Strip, as it is currently funding the construction of a main sewage treatment plant east of Al-Bureij, with investments valued at €70 million.

Eng. Nihad Al-Mughanni also praised the serious approach exerted by CMWU to continue implementing service projects in the field of water and sanitation, affirming the continuation of cooperation between the Municipality and the Utility in order to increase the quality of the service provided to residents of Gaza city.

Minister Mofid Al-Hasayna also stressed, in his speech, the necessity of combining the efforts of all parties in order to support the water sector and repair all the vital facilities destroyed by the occupation in its last aggression, and increasing the pace of the reconstruction wheel of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

In turn, Eng. Mazen Ghanem thanked all the contributors to completing this important and vital project, which comes as part of the efforts made to improve water services in the Gaza Strip amid the crisis the Strip is suffering from in this aspect, and amid the warnings issued by international bodies regarding the risks of the continuing water crisis in the Gaza Strip, thanking CMWU and all the working crews for completing this reservoir in the best manner.

It is worth noting that Al-Muntar reservoir has a capacity of (5) thousand cubic meters and is located on Al-Muntar hill, which rises 85 meters above sea level, with Al-Muntar reservoir playing an important role in the water supply system in the Gaza Strip, with Al-Muntar reservoir having been destroyed during the 2014 war on Gaza, and it was rebuilt with funding from the German government through the KfW institution, at a total cost of €750,000.

Maged ABU-RAMADAN
Monther Shoblaq