المؤلفات

The Geography of Development and Reconstruction in Palestine

The Geography of Development and Reconstruction in Palestine

Mohammad Shtayyeh, Ph.D.

Contents

The Establishment of the Palestinian Economic Council for 5 Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR)  Developing Palestinian capacity in the public and private Sectors  
Programs implemented by PECDAR in Palestine.
Projects implemented by PECDAR in different Governorates and by sector

Preface

The Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction “PECDAR”, has exerted great efforts in the development and reconstruction of Palestinian Territory. These have been reflected in the shape of tangible projects implemented in the cities, villages and refugee camps, through the proper management of the financial aid provided by the Donor Countries, and it has also been shown through the transparency in PECD AR‘ s procedures of bidding and tendering.

Such projects were in harmony with the priority needs of the village councils and the refugee camps committees, and also the priorities of the institutions and the people living in the different areas.

PECDAR has made significant progress in the framework of construction, development and rehabilita- tion of Palestinian infrastructure, despite the impediments imposed by the Israeli Occupation Authori- ties, and the lack of the necessary funds, which were not sufficient to complete the rehabilitation and construction process started since the establishment of the PNA.

This Atlas, which shows the details of the implemented projects in the different areas, reflects the type of project, the fund, the donor and the time frame for the work carried out. The book also documents the efforts of the people who participated in the supervision, planning, implementation and monitoring of these projects, it also reflects the donors who provided financial support. We, in PECDAR, view these efforts as a model to be followed by other institutions working in different fields.

I would like to seize the opportunity to extend our appreciation to the Donor Countries, who provided the PNA with the financial aid and supported us in the rehabilitation and reconstruction process.

I highly appreciate the full support and guidance ofH.E. President Yaser Arafat, who granted us every possible opportunity to succeed in our mission for the establishment of a free, democratic and indepen- dent Palestine, and to attract the Palestinians in Diaspora to return to their homeland with all necessary infrastructure in place for that purpose.

I also extended my tributes to Mr. Wael Dwaik,Graphic Designer of this publication, Engineer Samer Al kharouf for the database, Ms. Suheir Jaouni for the translation of this work, Mohammad Abu Auwad, Director of the Admin and Financial Department,Dr. Hisham Shkokani PMO Director, Engineer A1i Abu Maraseh PMO Deputy, Engineer A1i Abu Al Zummar, Director of Gaza Office and all Engineers and Employees of PECDAR.

This publication includes a detailed explanation ofPECDAR‘s programs and the accomplished projects within these programs and the Donors who financed the projects. This publication is the first one of its type, which indicates on maps the geographical location of the projects and its distribution. But these maps do not show the financial cost of each project, which varies, for example Jenin Hospital was implemented at a value of US$5 million, and Salah eddin road in Gaza which was implemented at a value of more than $20 million. Also it was not possible to show on the maps the technical projects, financial support to the institutions and the training program provided by PECDAR.

We were more interested in the developmental geography of the projects of both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the institution, which supervised the implementation of the different development pro- grams, aiming to develop and rehabilitate the Palestinian Infrastructure for the sake of both public and private investors.

Today, seeing the Israeli bulldozers destroying what we have constructed, I feel the curses of Sisyphus. But we also believe in the Chinese proverb that: “the distance of one thousand miles begins with one step”. We have, in fact, more than one step on the ground towards Jerusalem.