Type at least 2 characters for suggestions, or press Enter for the full search.
The Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union (EU), celebrated on Thursday the opening of the main road in Jiftlik, a village north of the town of Jericho. The road had undergone major rehabilitation works, it was also funded by the French Development Agency and the European Union as part of the Area “C” forth package.
Operations Manager at the MDLF, Mr. Hazem Kawasmi, spoke about the Area “C” project in Jiftlik, one of the benefiting localities, as part of the MDLF efforts to provide assistance to Area “C” village councils, revealing that the project to rehabilitate the main road of Jiftlik village was an investment of 240 thousand euros provided as part of the support of the AFD through the EU. The project had started during late October of 2018, and was handed over to the MDLF for public use starting Thursday.
The project is expected to serve over 4000 people, both as direct and indirect beneficiaries. It consists of two sections: one that is 350 meters long and the other one is 930 meters long. The rehabilitation, explained Mr. Kawasmi, is one of the most important projects in the area given the fact that it is the only main road in the village. It is expected to revive the area both socially and economically by easing the movement of citizens on the one hand, and allowing for potential economic activities on both sides of the road.
Mr. Kawasmi asserted that the MDLF had rehabilitated the road following the best known practices, and adhering to the highest standards. The project included an expansion of the existing pipe-culvert as well, and installing of a new pipe-culvert.
Mr. Kawasmi confirmed that the MDLF, and for the past three years, had implemented the policies of the Ministry of Local Government by implementing projects in marginalized Palestinian areas, most notably in Area “C”, all across the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Village Council of Jiftlik, Mr. Ahmed Ghawanma, indicated that the EU and the AFD had already supervised several projects in the village, which included paving the main road, rehabilitating the village’s clinic, as well as providing an ambulance for the village; adding that the restoration of the main road in the village of Jiftlik serves the citizens and facilitates their movement across the area, especially young students of the village.
Mr. Ghawanma illustrated that the main road, spanning along 1300 meters, connects central sites in the village to one another, such as the clinic, the local school, Khallet Al-Fuleh locality, as well as the Bedouin compounds.
Mr. Nicolas Gury, the representative of the French Development Agency (AFD), emphasized that the French government and the European Union were committed to resuming their work in these areas, in terms of providing humanitarian and development assistance, in addition to working in parallel with the Palestinian government to develop these areas, support their populations, facilitating their lives, and alleviate the hardships they face. Mr. Gury also pointed out to the fact that these projects will ultimately lead to an increase in economic opportunities as well as empower the Palestinian institutions.