An expert surveys international and local answers to Gaza's economic and political crises in Al-Eqtisadiah

Al-Eqtesadia newspaper — Gaza — Salah Abu Hunaidaq:

Putting the building of the airport and the seaport to international investors in international tenders

Renting an Egyptian or Israeli port as a temporary solution

Putting forward a maritime transport line to run journeys across the sea to Cyprus

A Palestinian economic expert proposed a series of options that could be applied should negotiation take place between the Palestinian factions and Israel on establishing a seaport and airport in the Gaza Strip suitable to the two sides and the international bodies, and able to limit the humanitarian crisis in the Strip and improve its economic and investment situations.

The economist Omar Shaban said in a special interview with “al-Eqtesadia” that the issue of building a seaport in the Strip is considered easier than establishing an airport as far as Israel is concerned — a matter that requires several fundamental steps, the first of which is setting a time plan comprising two steps. The first: working on finding a seaport for transporting individuals from Gaza to Cyprus by a sea line operating 4 ships carrying between 2000–3000 travellers weekly with regularity, and that this matter be put forward as an international tender for renting it to one of the international companies, which can present guarantees to the international oversight bodies as relates to security, guarding, and monitoring.

As for the second, Shaban proposed establishing an international oversight office in Gaza to give international guarantees to the world and Israel, whose function would be verifying that the travelling person has the identity papers that confirm their freedom and fitness to travel — noting that the traveller will be under prior monitoring because they must obtain a visa from the state to which they will travel.

Shaban likewise put forward receiving the travellers in a specified area in Cyprus to make sure they are the same persons who actually travelled from Gaza, and then from it to the places to which they will move.

He told “al-Eqtesadia” that the Authority must place the matter of the port's use also for the West Bank on the agenda of the negotiations with Israel, in view of the absence of any sea outlet in it, and its being a Palestinian port it will be for the entirety of the Palestinian territories — pointing out that allowing the Bank's merchants to import through it instead of the Israeli ports is a matter that will lower the cost of transport by 50% on incoming Palestinian trade.

As relates to the cost of establishing the port, Shaban said there are two kinds of ports, the first floating and the second fixed. The cost of the floating one reaches between 20 and 25 million dollars, and it is built by bringing in a floating strip from some states and installing it within weeks — proposing that it be rented and awarded as a bid to an international company in the manner of “B.O.T”, as is the case now with the new Amman airport, which was built two years ago and whose building costs were borne by a consortium of international companies that manages it for ten years and then its ownership passes to the state.

Shaban affirmed that the floating-port model is the best at the present time, and most of the specifications of international investments apply to it — because the economic crises in Gaza do not bear waiting and need immediate solutions, and in view of the Palestinians facing the problem of the availability of the exorbitant funding that the building of the permanent port needs; noting that the cost of the port that bears 50 thousand tons needs 250 million dollars, and needs a period for its building of no less than 5 years.

He made clear that the Palestinian side must search for funding of 250 million dollars should a port bearing 50 thousand tons be established, or 400 million dollars should it bear 100 thousand tons — proposing that it be put forward for investment before the international companies and awarded as an international bid, without costing the Palestinian state any money.

He likewise proposed that the Rafah crossing mission, or any counterpart of it, monitor the working of the floating port until the fixed port is built, pointing out that: “there are 12 missions like it in the world“. Shaban likewise proposed requesting a maritime transport police to manage the line in return for obtaining certain fees on every ticket, supposing: “that if we said the ticket for moving by ship from Gaza to Cyprus is 200 dollars, it becomes 250 dollars — 200 for the state and 50 for the company that will manage the water corridor” — affirming that the greatest interest for the Palestinians is that the corridor be secure and under monitoring, so long as Israel does not interfere in the matters of permitting entry and exit through this corridor.

He stressed that the preceding measure will realise a kind of economic movement in the country through bringing in uncounted internal and external investments by encouraging the foreign investor through reassurance about the political situation; it will allow the investment of Palestinian billions existing abroad; and it will strengthen the Palestinian reconciliation through the harvesting of shared fruits for all the parties.

Shaban likewise presented a proposal to rent part of the Israeli port of Ashdod or the Egyptian al-Arish, as many states that have no sea outlets do — such that this part becomes the property of the Palestinian side with Palestinian customs and transport employees, and joint monitoring between the agreement's two parties.

He pointed out that this water space can be rented to an international company, in view of the Palestinian side having no experience in managing ports — like the Dubai Ports company, which manages the port of New York — provided this agreement be for a period of between three and five years until the building of the permanent Palestinian port is finished.

The division and its effects on the proposals.

He noted that the world will not gamble on defying the Palestinian political system, in view of the port and the airport being Palestinian gains regardless of who rules and in whose hand the power is — calling on the Palestinian parties not to make the reconciliation file a stumbling block in the face of establishing the port and the airport, they being among the strategic goals of the current and coming generations, while the division file is tactical and temporary for a certain period.

The economic expert likewise revealed a number of projects that can be invested in Gaza that have no relation to the reconciliation file, such as a project for generating electricity and desalinating water from seawater through using an Italian technology resting on placing sensors set on the waves, generating pressure that moves turbines that generate electricity and desalinated water — pointing out that it is considered profitable to a great degree.

He added that it can be put forward as an international bid to establish the electricity station, setting out that the body that will do that will obtain a market granting it a billion dollars annually — especially as Gaza consumes electricity of no less than a billion shekels, and to it will be added the returns of the other kinds of fuel and the returns of economic growth in the Strip.

He pointed out that the body that will establish the water-desalination station will be costed by that half a billion dollars, which can be recovered from the profits in the first half-year of operation.

He demanded of the Palestinian Authority the necessity of preparing the international tender papers particular to exploiting the gas fields on the shores of Gaza's sea, which are estimated at 50 billion cubic metres, and an international tender to rent a basin in the two ports of Ashdod or al-Arish in coordination with the Egyptian government so that the Egyptian economy benefits.

The economic expert said: “If the Authority thinks there are special negotiations between Hamas and Israel, why does it not pre-empt the matter and offer an international tender for the projects? Israel and Hamas cannot announce an agreement, because Hamas is a party and the latter is states.”

He warned the international community that Gaza cannot wait long before its humanitarian crises, which increase in depth with the passing of the days.

Source: http://www.eqtesadia.ps/economy-and-people/44345.html