January 2014

Program Overview

Since 1994 USAID has been one of the largest donors in the infrastructure sector in the West Bank and Gaza. Projects include the construction and rehabilitation of roads, clinics, schools, community facilities, water systems, distribution networks, and sanitation systems. USAID is strengthening the Palestinian Water Authority’s capacity to better operate and maintain its water system by improving infrastructure, as well as providing training and hands-on technical assistance. These efforts will help reduce water losses and improve the sustainable use of limited resources for the growing Palestinian population.

In November 2013, Secretary of State Kerry announced a total of $100 million to support the Palestinian Authority’s High- Impact Micro-Infrastructure Initiative (HIMII) as part of a broader economic effort to support the Palestinian economy. As part of the HIMII, the Palestinian Authority selected priority community-based projects designed to generate tangible benefits in the lives of Palestinians and lay the groundwork for further economic growth. HIMII projects, dispersed throughout the West Bank, create jobs and include the construction and repair of health clinics, roads, water systems, community centers, and schools.

Goals

• Build the Palestinian Authority’s capacity and improve the quality of life for Palestinians through infrastructure improvements and technical trainings.
• Develop the professional skills of local Palestinian engineers and construction managers in the infrastructure sector.
• Create skilled and unskilled job opportunities through infrastructure projects.

Active Projects

Infrastructure Needs Program (INP) II
INP II builds upon the work achieved under the first INP and develops strategic sources of new water supply, rehabilitates and constructs water distribution systems, and designs and constructs wastewater treatment plants. INP II also rehabilitates main and regional roads to form contiguous road networks that support economic growth opportunities.
Implementing Partners: Black & Veatch; AIC, LLC; APCO/ArCon; BLD Services, LLC; IRD; The Morganti Group Inc.; CDM Constructors Inc.; Life of Project: 09/30/2010-09/30/2015; Total Estimated Cost: $900,000,000.

Local Government and Infrastructure Program (LGI)
LGI is designed to promote better local governance and provide the basic community infrastructure necessary for improving the quality of life for Palestinians. Under LGI, USAID has undertaken approximately 200 infrastructure projects for schools, health clinics, community centers, youth clubs and roads, benefitting nearly one million Palestinians. Implementing Partner: Global Communities; Life of Project: 09/30/2010-09/30/2015; Total Estimated Cost: $100,000,000.

Palestinian Community Infrastructure Development Program (PCID)
PCID aims to increase Palestinians’ access to water and sanitation and implement other small and medium-scale community infrastructure projects that address basic infrastructure needs in rural and vulnerable Palestinian communities that lack basic services.
Implementing Partner: ANERA; Life of Project: 03/06/2013-03/05/2018; Total Estimated Cost: $100,000,000.

Local Construction Program (LCP)
LCP implements small- and medium-scale infrastructure activities in the West Bank to improve infrastructure across multiple sectors, resulting in safer roads, better schools and health clinics, and improved access to water and sanitation services for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Implementing Partners: Black & Veatch; Arab Brothers Construction & Infrastructure; Osaily Trading Contracting Co.; Saqa Skills & Quality Construction; Saqqa and Khoudary Co. Ltd.; Tarifi Contracting & Reconstruction Company; Technical Group Company for General Contracting; Life of Project: 07/06/2013-07/06/2018; Total Estimated Cost: $300,000,000.

Successes

• Constructed more than 340 kilometers of roads in the last four years, installed more than 176 kilometers of water pipelines, and constructed 10 water reservoirs, improving the health, economic, and social conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
• Renovated five major hospitals in the West Bank and two hospitals in Gaza in the past five years, providing more structurally-sound and convenient facilities for patients, their families, and medical staff.
• Upgraded water distribution networks providing clean water to more than 310,000 people in remote communities.
• Helped organize public planning workshops in nearly 30 locations, giving 1,400 participants the opportunity to identify their communities’ most pressing infrastructure needs and select projects to address them.
• Renovated seven schools and five health clinics in Area C of the West Bank in the past three years, benefitting nearly 12,000 residents of remote locations by providing improved facilities for these basic public services.
• Completed a community vulnerability assessment for the West Bank that will help USAID prioritize and plan future projects according to the greatest infrastructure needs in different sectors including water, wastewater, physical infrastructure, transportation, health, education, food security, and economy.