Aid workers open new Gaza desalination plant

International aid workers open a new desalination plant in the Gaza Strip, bringing some relief to a territory where 97 percent of the water is undrinkable.

It is the Hamas-ruled territory’s second and largest desalination plant. While it will not solve Gaza’s water woes, officials say the project marks an important step.

“Despite the small production, this gives symbolism to Gaza residents that the train of water solution is now on track,” says Monzer Shublaq, director of Coastal Municipalities Water Utility in Gaza.

The plant will initially produce 6,000 cubic meters of water a day, a small fraction of Gaza’s needs. In all, the population uses 150,000 cubic meters a day, most of it from a depleted coastal aquifer.

The European Union says it invested 10 million euros, or $10.6 million, in building the plant with UNICEF. It has pledged a similar amount for a second phase meant to double capacity by 2019.

Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules Gaza, did not participate in the project, and is not represented at the ceremony.

— Agencies