Two agreements have been signed to launch a wastewater treatment and reuse project in Jenin West, backed by Palestinian institutions and EU partners.
The Palestinian Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Palestinian Water Authority signed the deals alongside the European Union, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the Jenin West Water Utility, the European External Action Service (EEAS) informed on Wednesday.
The project is called TAJDID — short for Treatment of Wastewater and Agricultural Reuse in Jenin West for Development, Investment and Decentralization — and is part of the Team Europe Initiative for Wastewater Management in Palestine.
Team Europe is the EU’s framework for joint work with member states and partner institutions.
TAJDID has a total budget of about €31.7 million, and is jointly financed by the EU, France through AFD, and Germany through KfW.
Two funding agreements were signed as part of the launch: an €11.2 million financing agreement between KfW, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance and Planning, and the Jenin West Water Utility — signed by the Palestinian Water Authority — and a €5.5 million contribution agreement between the EU and AFD, which was also acknowledged by the Palestinian Water Authority.
Treatment plant, collection network and agricultural reuse
The project includes construction of more than 100 kilometres of wastewater collection networks and a wastewater treatment plant with an initial capacity of about 3,700 cubic metres per day, along with infrastructure to reuse treated wastewater safely in agriculture, according to the European External Action Service statement.
In its first phase, TAJDID is expected to directly benefit about 36,000 residents in five towns in the Jenin Governorate — Al Yamoun, Silat Al Harthiya, Kafr Dan, Rummana, and Tinnik.
The project includes an emergency-response component to allow rapid repairs and maintain essential services, in the context of repeated damage to civilian infrastructure in the Jenin area, including water and wastewater systems.
“Today’s agreements mark a concrete expression of Team Europe’s commitment to Palestine’s water sector,” EU Representative Alexandre Stutzmann said at the signing event.
“Palestine has the right to make effective use and to manage its water resources according to the needs of its population,” Anke Schlimm, head of the German Representative Office in Ramallah.
