France to upgrade West Bank water supply network

The Consul General of France in Jerusalem, Frédéric Desagneaux, will inaugurate on Sunday the upgrading of the drinking water service in the northern West Bank as well as its bond to Maythaloun network for a total cost of 9.5 million euros, a consulate press statement said Saturday This project allowed this year to equip and to launch the operations of the well drilling in Tammoun and Tubas and to achieve the long-awaited connection of Tammoun municipality to the drinking water network, it said. All homes in the municipalities of Tubas and Tammoun (that is over 57,000 inhabitants) will benefit from improved services through building of reservoirs and rehabilitation and expansion of existing networks. Pre-payment meters have also been set up to ensure cost coverage and thus long-term sustainability. The bond with the water supply system of Maythaloun allows the whole water supply network of this region to be ensured. The water and sanitation sector is the top priority of French development aid in the Palestinian Territories. Totalling 100 million euros since 1998, the projects funded by the French Development Agency aim at improving access to drinking water for over 800,000 people and to sanitation for over 500,000 people. The opening ceremony will be held in the presence of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, water authority director Shaddad Attili and the director of the French Development Agency in Jerusalem (AFD), Hervé Conan.