Full reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, a process that requires clearing millions of tons of rubble, will come at an estimated cost of 70 billion U.S. dollars, said a United Nations official on Tuesday.
At a press conference on the situation in Gaza held in Geneva, Switzerland, Jaco Cilliers, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Special Representative of the Administrator for the Palestinian people, said after two years of active conflict, reconstruction in Gaza faces huge funding gaps and severe humanitarian challenges.
"Just to give you an estimate of the challenges that the reconstruction efforts will cost, the IRDNA (Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment), which was jointly done by the UN, the European Union and the World Bank, estimates that about 70 billion [U.S.] dollars will be required for the reconstruction of Gaza. That means that also in the next three years about 20 billion dollars will be required," said Cilliers.
According to the UN official, some 84 percent of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged, and in some areas, including Gaza City, that figure has reached 92 percent. The timeline for reconstruction is likely to "take at least a decade."
Debris clearing is one of the biggest challenges, but it remains a necessary step to ensure aid can reach people and reconstruction can begin, said Cilliers.
"So, the estimated damage and rubble, throughout the whole of Gaza, is in the region of 55 million tons. It's also equal to 13 pyramids in Giza. That is the amount and size of the challenge that needs to be filled," he said.
Gaza's full reconstruction to cost 70 bln U.S. dollars: UN official
