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The Project Infrastructure
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Infrastructure The three decades of Israeli occupation in Bethlehem saw almost no repair, upkeep, or modernisation of the most basic infrastructure. A District with over 150,000 inhabitants, Bethlehem urgently needed to upgrade, develop, and maintain its utility networks.
The Bethlehem 2000 Project is addressing the Needs of the Districts' Infrastructure:
Around US$ 52 million have been invested to upgrade the infrastructure of Bethlehem and its district. While a large proportion of the different projects has already been implemented before the millennium celebrations, several others are still ongoing, especially in road and water works. Efforts are being made to complete these projects.
Due to the grave economic conditions that the Palestinian people are suffering from as a result of the Israeli closure of Palestinian Territories, the unemployment rate has soared among Palestinians. As part of a national Palestinian programme, the Project, together with several local partners namely the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Public Works and the municipalities, has embarked on a job creation programme in Bethlehem an its district. The Project has shifted some US$1.5 million of its finance, provided by a World Bank loan, to finance this job creation programme. The programme will create jobs in around 38 villages and towns in the district of Bethlehem.
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