Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip, Mohammed al-Emadi, revealed new details Sunday about a plan to lay a natural gas pipeline in Gaza.
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In an interview with Gaza-based Sawa news agency, al-Emadi said that Qatar's Gaza Reconstruction Committee has recently held several "productive" meetings to advance the matter together with representatives of the Chevron Corporation, as well as officials from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia.
The committee also held meetings with diplomats from France, the Netherland, and the Palestinian Authority.
The Qatari envoy shared that there already exist two contracts regarding the pipeline. The first one is a contract between the Palestinian Authority and a gas company concerning the purchase of natural gas. The second one is a contract for the installation of the pipelines.
"An agreement has been reached with Europe to allocate $5 million dollars for the assembly of gas pipelines from the border to the power station, while Qatar will install pipes on the Israeli side," al-Emadi said, also revealing the plan to set up a team of officials from the reconstruction committee and the PA to monitor the implementation of both contracts within the next six months.
According to the envoy, the power plant in the Gaza Strip will save the Palestinian Authority millions of dollars and solve its consumption crisis. The PA currently pays $11 million for the power line from Israel, in addition to the $2.5 million allocated to the power plant itself. Qatar buys $7 million in fuel every month for this station.
The envoy predicted that the project would be completed within two or two and a half years from the time the pipeline work begins.
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