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PA ELECTRIC CO. TO GO PRIVATE - AND PUBLIC
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is going ahead with plans to establish a Palestinian electric corporation as a private monopoly, with some shares in the company offered to the public on the Nablus stock exchange. The stock issue on the Nablus exchange is expected to take place within two months.
The company will be controlled by private businessmen, with some stock offered to the public and a small share allocated to the Palestinian Authority. This model was also used for the Palestinian communications company Paltel, which is responsible for developing telecommunications in Palestine. The Director of PECDAR - (the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction) - Mohammed Shtaayeh, says that the Palestinian electric company will first focus on supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip and later extend its activities to the West Bank.
The Palestinian electric company will be controlled by a consortium headed by the CCC company, an Athens-based corporation owned by Palestinians and considered one of the major engineering and infrastructure firms in the Middle East. CCC teamed with the American company Bechtel, recently won a local tender in the Palestinian territories worth several million dollars.
The PNA plans to build an electric power plant on the Gaza coast, at the cost of $100 million, with an expected generating capacity of 140 megawatts. Supplying electricity to the West Bank would require an agreement with Israel for installing high-tension lines between Gaza and the West Bank.
PECDAR's director, Shtayyeh, is also heading a Palestinian delegation that has been discussing "final status" economic arrangements with an Israeli team headed by Professor Haim Ben Shahar. Shtayyeh says that the two have not been able to reach agreement and will present different alternatives, noting the pros and cons of
each.
According to Shtaayeh, the Israeli team advocates a single tax authority for the Israeli and Palestinian economies, based more or less on the current situation. The Palestinian side rejects this idea and is proposing instead to institute a free trade-zone model. Both sides do concur that the best model is neither one of complete economic separation nor unification.
PA Electric co. to go private - and public
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is going ahead with plans to establish a Palestinian electric corporation as a private monopoly, with some shares in the company offered to the public on the Nablus stock exchange. The stock issue on the Nablus exchange is expected to take place within two months.
The company will be controlled by private businessmen, with some stock offered to the public and a small share allocated to the Palestinian Authority. This model was also used for the Palestinian communications company Paltel, which is responsible for developing telecommunications in Palestine. The Director of PECDAR - (the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction) - Mohammed Shtaayeh, says that the Palestinian electric company will first focus on supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip and later extend its activities to the West Bank.
The Palestinian electric company will be controlled by a consortium headed by the CCC company, an Athens-based corporation owned by Palestinians and considered one of the major engineering and infrastructure firms in the Middle East. CCC teamed with the American company Bechtel, recently won a local tender in the Palestinian territories worth several million dollars.
The PNA plans to build an electric power plant on the Gaza coast, at the cost of $100 million, with an expected generating capacity of 140 megawatts. Supplying electricity to the West Bank would require an agreement with Israel for installing high-tension lines between Gaza and the West Bank. This would also require a commercial understanding between Israeli and Palestinian electricity providers on servicing Israeli and Palestinian settlements on the West Bank.
PECDAR's director, Shtayyeh, is also heading a Palestinian delegation that has been discussing "final status" economic arrangements with an Israeli team headed by Professor Haim Ben Shahar. Shtayyeh says that the two have not been able to reach agreement and will present different alternatives, noting the pros and cons of
each.
According to Shtaayeh, the Israeli team advocates a single tax authority for the Israeli and Palestinian economies, based more or less on the current situation. The Palestinian side rejects this idea and is proposing instead to institute a free trade-zone model. Both sides do concur that the best model is neither one of complete economic separation nor unification.