Saudi Arabia World Bank grant – Funding for courthouses and roads in the West Bank and Gaza – Press release

The World Bank Group

Us $20 Million From Saudi Arabia To Fund Courthouses And Roads In West Bank And Gaza

LISBON, June 8, 2000-Representatives of the Saudi Fund for Development and the World Bank signed an agreement last night for the administration of a $20 million grant to finance the construction of two courthouses and for road rehabilitation works in the West Bank and Gaza.

The grant will provide for the construction of two modern courthouses (one in Ramallah, West Bank and one in Gaza City, Gaza), which will be built and furnished to address the seriously inadequate state of infrastructure of the Palestinian court system in the West Bank and Gaza. In addition to improving judicial infrastructure, the courthouses would assist in advancing the establishment of a sound and functional legal system.

Courthouse construction will be an integral part of the World Bank-financed Legal Development Project, which has been under implementation since 1997 in the West Bank and Gaza.

In addition to the construction of the two courthouses, a portion of the grant will provide funding for the rehabilitation and construction of roads under the World Bank-financed Municipal Infrastructure Development Project.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major donors to the West Bank and Gaza, where it has pledged US$300 million to various development projects in the fields of education, health, housing, NGOs, roads, water and wastewater and budget support. A significant portion of the Saudi financial assistance to the Palestinians has been channeled through the World Bank.

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