Imagine it’s the year 2050. Gaza’s 3.5 million people are living in peace and freedom, able to travel uninhibited from the prosperous enclave to the West Bank and beyond, its status as Palestine’s tech-based economic hub part of a golden age that seemed implausible 30 years earlier.
This may sound like wild fantasy, but a group of Palestinian entrepreneurs believe they can make it happen and have joined forces to first create and then implement Global Palestine, Connected Gaza. Drawn up by a team of 20 international experts and produced by U.S.-based consultants AECOM following consultations with over 300 local and international stakeholders, this spatial vision lays out plans for 70 integrated projects to transform Gaza.
“Whenever we hear about Gaza, it's a question of always wars and violence, and we want to change the discourse,” said Nafez Husseini, a senior executive at Lebanon-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), which was founded by three Palestinian entrepreneurs in the 1950s and generated $4.6 billion in revenue last year.
“Three-quarters of Gaza's population is under 30 – there’s so much untapped energy and we want to utilise this energy to create meaningful employment. This study gives Gaza, for the first time, a holistic vision of how we can integrate all the various economic sectors [to] generate jobs and house Gaza’s growing population.”
BIG AMBITIONS
The plan is divided into four main parts – urban development, transportation, energy and water, and environment and open space. The plans – which include an airport, an offshore port built on reclaimed land, and light and heavy railways linking the West Bank – aim to enable freedom of movement and facilitate economic growth.
“Connected Gaza addresses the most pressing challenges that Gaza faces, while calling for major investments that will contribute to the economic sustainability of Gaza as part of the future Palestinian State,” said Samer Khoury, CCC’s President of Engineering and Construction. “We can change the perception of Gaza and redefine its role to serve as Palestine’s Gateway to the World.”
That will be a tall order considering Gaza’s dire situation – unemployment stands at over 40 percent, income per capita among its 1.8 million people has fallen by about a third since the mid-1990s and its water and electricity facilities are on the brink of collapse amid an ongoing Israeli blockade.
“Such complex and large scale projects require the political cooperation and agreement of Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, plus the stakeholders in Gaza to move forward,” said Khoury.
Other local entities supporting the plan include Palestine Investment Fund, Bank of Palestine, Paltel Group Foundation and the Palestine Real Estate Investment Company, while the study’s authors have held workshops with a number of interested groups including local government, academia, private sector representatives, unions, NGOs and financial aid institutes.
“Our main goal is to engage all stakeholders in the plan, get their opinions, brainstorm implementation ideas and of course expect their advocacy and support,” said Emad Elian, CCC’s Head of Technical Support in Gaza. “We bring key figures from different political backgrounds to gain their consensus on the plan.”
Perhaps most notably, Connected Gaza is working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international institutions to create a framework to realise the Gaza vision on the ground. Various models are being examined such as the Regional Development Agency created for Aqaba in Jordan.
“Ultimately, we, in consultation with stakeholders, will select the most appropriate institutional framework that considers Gaza local conditions and context,” said Husseini.
“A good number of universities are producing excellent graduates so we want to put in place a framework to utilise their skills – technology is creating a virtual global market where your location doesn’t matter and we think Gaza can take a piece of that.”
FUNDING
Connected Gaza envisions multiplying Gaza’s economy by 25 times by 2050, enabling it to reach middle-income standards, with the enclave part of an independent Palestinian state focused on trade.
The 70 projects, although not exhaustive, range from large-scale infrastructure developments to grassroots, community-driven schemes, and will complement existing reconstruction plans and development projects.
Some will be funded by the private sector and are potentially the most profitable, some will be led by the public sector and some by the international/donor community. Some could also use hybrid models such as private-public partnerships. The integrated and foundation projects cited in the study have an estimated combined construction cost of around $7 billion.
“We’re not intending for these projects to be used as a political gain for one party or another,” said Husseini. “All parties understand our motivations, including the Israelis.”
POLITICS
Khoury acknowledged that differences between Hamas, which rules Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank territory under Palestinian control, had made implementing the plan more difficult.
“We believe Gaza Vision, being a neutral initiative proposed by the private sector, will provide greater chances to succeed,” said Khoury, adding recent talks between the two main Palestinian political powers showed the pair were moving toward a reconciliation.
Agriculture and fisheries offer huge potential, but are hindered by Israeli restrictions on fertilisers, pesticides and the distance offshore Gaza fishing boats are permitted to travel. “These are industries we can expand and compete internationally,” said Khoury. “Gaza has good agriculture. It is part of our economy, culture and identity. We just need better access to modern agricultural techniques and technology. We could continue to meet an important share of our food demand locally as well as export fruit, vegetables and flowers to Europe.”
ACTION
The most pressing priorities, however, are power and water – Gaza’s residents have been getting by on as a little as four hours’ electricity a day, while only 10 percent of people have access to safe drinking water as the enclave’s natural aquifer becomes ever more depleted and contaminated.
Gaza’s power plant’s official capacity is 140 megawatts, but actual production is limited to 60-70 MW because of difficulties in importing spare parts and fuel; peak demand in the enclave is 280 MW. Under the Connected Gaza plan, capacity will be expanded to meet peak demand once gas is sourced from Israel or Egypt and the necessary funding is secured. The expansion will likely be completed in 3-4 years, Husseini predicted. CCC and Shell also plan to bring Gaza’s offshore gas field into production, with exports slated to begin in 3-4 years.
CCC is also investigating the possibility of building a reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant next to Gaza’s power plant, which will use the latter’s infrastructure to lower production costs.
“We're targeting using containerised, desalination technology, which is acceptable to the Israelis. We think it can be operational within 18-24 months – it will be built over three phases,” said Husseini.
The first phase will create a plant with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day. It will then be upgraded up to produce 30,000 cubic meter daily over several years.
“We're in the developmental stage and are reviewing some of technical and financial elements of the plant,” said Husseini.
“We expect to fund it partly through grants, which can help pay for construction. Once, it’s operational, the plant will be profitable. Some countries such as Oman have indicated they may help. Once we have the package ready, we will approach financial institutes that provide grants for these kind of water projects.”