Project Summary

Khan Younis Governorate is located at the southern part of the Gaza Strip and is currently inhabited by more than 340,000 residents. It has been sustaining for a long time an absolute absence of a functional wastewater treatment plant. The raw sewage is still being disposed off in the environment without treatment through cesspits and ad-hoc lagoons, which is posing serious risks to the residents’ public health as well as contaminating the ground water aquifer.

The construction of Khan Younis waste water treatment plant is prioritized by the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) as a strategic environmental project that is not only needed to respond to the vital hygienic and environmental needs of Khan Younis residents, but to also fulfil the PWA’s objectives in achieving water security in the Gaza Strip.

The implementation, construction and co-financing of the USD 58 million Plant is through UNDP with funds from the Government of Japan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development through the Islamic Development Bank.

The project seeks to construct a comprehensive, functional and operational wastewater treatment plant at a flow capacity of 26,600 cubic metres per day to serve the residents of Khan Younis for 2018 as a first phase of operation.

The overarching goals of the project aim at:

1. Protecting public health and environment of Khan Younis residents;
2. Contributing to develop public and social infrastructure in the Gaza Strip;
3. Preserving the limited water resources in the Gaza Strip, especially the coastal aquifer;
4. Providing a new non-conventional water source through recharging the treated waste water into the aquifer to ultimately be used for agricultural purposes;
5. Enhancing the operational capacity of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) as final operator of the treatment plant.
6. Creating job opportunities for unemployed local Palestinian workers that will contribute to improving their socio-economic conditions.

The project comprises the following components:

• Constructing main inlet pressure pipeline from pumping station No.8 to KY WWTP
• Providing the detailed design for the construction of KY WWTP
• Carrying out the design review, pre-contract and construction supervision services for the construction of KY WWTP
• Constructing KY WWTP and carrying out one year operation after commissioning
• Constructing the effluent and emergency pressure pipelines to the infiltration basins and sea outfall with a total length of 18.6 KM
• Constructing the infiltration basins on an area of 95 dunums to recharge the treated waste water into the aquifer to ultimately be used for agricultural purposes
• Constructing the main electrical power supply line to KY WWTP
  

Accomplishments and Progress

• 996 metre of main steel pressure pipes of 24 inches diameter and 1,070 metre of concrete pipes of 1,000 mm diameter constructed in November 2006.
• The detailed design, tender documents and Environmental Impact Assessment study for the construction of KY WWTP were provided in December 2010.
• The construction works for the Khan Younis Waste Water Treatment Plant and buildings are ongoing on site with overall progress of around 65%.
• The contract for the construction of the main pressure lines to the sea and to the infiltration basins under the UNDP package was signed in December 2016. There was a delay in the approval for accessing the ductile iron pipes but approval was obtained in January 2018 and overall progress is 30%.
• Progress on the construction of the main pressure lines to the sea and to the infiltration basins for KY WWTP under the CMWU package was pending the approval for accessing the ductile iron pipes into Gaza, although contract was signed in February 2017.  Approval was obtained in February 2018 and the first shipment of pipes (1767 MR) arrived at Ashdod port in October 2018.
• The construction of the Infiltration Basins in Al Fukhari for KY WWTP are ongoing with overall progress of around 85%. The agreement was signed with the contractor on 08 February 2017.
• The contract for the construction of main electrical power supply line (KY WWTP) was signed in 02 October 2018.