Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza Signs Contracts for a New Package of Projects

HE Ambassador Mohammed Al-Emadi, Chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, signed contracts for a new package of projects funded by Qatar in the Gaza Strip, during a ceremony organized by the Committee today at the Museum Hotel in Gaza, in the presence of the Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing, Dr. Mufid Al-Hasayneh, and a large number of representatives of governmental and non-governmental institutions and bodies. At the beginning of his speech at the contract signing ceremony, HE Ambassador Al-Emadi conveyed the greetings and appreciation of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and all official and popular institutions in the State of Qatar, to the Palestinian people who are looking forward with hope to building a better future for their children at all levels in light of these difficult circumstances. He explained that after signing the contracts for the aforementioned projects, the Qatari Committee has been able, over the past few years, to implement huge projects worth about $300 million from the first grant of His Highness the Father Emir, worth $407 million, and other grants. He pointed out that the State of Qatar's projects are the largest in Palestine, such as the city of His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, which includes three thousand housing units, one thousand units have been delivered to their beneficiaries and 1237 housing units will be delivered by the end of this year, as well as the Salah al-Din Street project, 28 km long, extending from the Rafah crossing into Gaza with a width of six lanes. His Excellency announced that a new package of projects was signed today, estimated to cost about $20 million, and includes three main projects: a project to build eight residential buildings within the City of Hope project of His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Al-Zahraa city in the central Gaza Strip, a project for the Reform and Rehabilitation Center in Khan Yunis Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip, and a tender to supply, install and operate medical and electronic equipment and furniture for the building of the "His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani" Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics. He added, "Four years after the establishment of the committee and the launch of its strategic projects, we are still making efforts with all parties to complete these projects, whether in the fields of electricity, health, agriculture, sports, infrastructure, housing, rebuilding destroyed homes, and other projects funded by the State of Qatar. We also cooperate with international organizations to solve the problems existing in the sector, especially in the issue of electricity, in cooperation with the International Quartet Committee." His Excellency Ambassador Mohammed Al-Emadi, Chairman of the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, confirmed that the State of Qatar was one of the first countries to rebuild 1,000 housing units completely destroyed after the last war in 2014, and that 98% of citizens have resided in their homes. His Excellency expressed his thanks to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Government of National Accord and its Prime Minister Dr. Rami Al-Hamdallah, and he also thanked the Minister of Public Works and Housing Dr. Mufid Al-Hasayneh, and all officials in international institutions and United Nations organizations, and everyone who contributed to the reconstruction and implementation of projects. For his part, the Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing, Dr. Mufid Al-Hasayneh, on behalf of the Palestinian President and Prime Minister, expressed his deepest thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and to the Qatari people. He also appreciated the efforts made by His Excellency Ambassador Al-Emadi to ensure the success of the reconstruction and development process in Palestine, and his thanks go to the technical teams and the technical office of the Qatari Committee. He noted that after ten years of the imposed Israeli blockade, efforts are still ongoing to address the effects of the successive wars on Gaza, indicating that the implementation of the commitments of the donors' conference held in Cairo following the last war on Gaza did not exceed 30% of the funds allocated in this conference, and hundreds of families are still living in mobile homes (caravans) to this moment. Al-Hasayneh said, "Despite all the challenges we face in the national consensus government and the obstacles that hinder the progress of the reconstruction file, the government is making every possible effort through the support and assistance of our Arab and Muslim brothers and friends of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the sisterly State of Qatar." He noted Qatar's role in rebuilding a thousand completely destroyed housing units, expressing his hope that support would be renewed with an additional thousand housing units within the one billion dollar grant pledged by Qatar during the donors' conference.