Multi-Site Urban Regeneration Project in Jericho

With a total budget of over €4 million over a three-year period (starting in 2017), the Project promoted by the Municipality of Jericho is one of the projects selected by the Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI). The Initiative aims to promote and develop sustainable and innovative urban projects in the Euro-Mediterranean region that serve as best practice examples and are potentially replicable.

The Project responds to the urban development challenges facing the city of Jericho, located in the southern part of the Jordan Rift Valley in the West Bank, and aims to address the environmental and social needs of the population of one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating from about 9000 BC.

With these aims in mind, the Project will upgrade the city centre following an urban renewal and integrated urban planning approach. More specifically, it envisages the construction of a new and modern municipal slaughterhouse (used for poultry and cattle), that meets the highest health and safety standards, on a plot of land far from the residential area, and the implementation of a management model. The municipal workshop (where the municipality maintains all of its equipment, i.e. solid waste collection trucks, pumping equipment and civil works equipment) will be relocated to the current slaughterhouse location, its facilities will be upgraded and access to the urban surroundings improved. The Project also provides for the expansion of the municipal park into the current workshop area adjacent to the park and the construction of new leisure facilities (two swimming pools and a 3D cinema).

Broadly speaking, the Project will make Jericho more attractive for locals as well as visitors. Neighbourhoods will be revitalised and commercial and other activities stimulated. Jericho’s more than 22,609 inhabitants will benefit from improved living conditions. An estimated 10,000 students, 15,000 people who own holiday homes in Jericho and local tourists will also benefit from a better urban environment.

The Project responds to the UfM’s interest in promoting urban development that benefits local populations and is of an exemplary nature in many respects. It adopts an integrated approach that directly addresses the environmental and social needs of the population, and it plays a key role in reducing the risk of health hazards. Moreover, the Project proves that a medium-sized city can also devise integrated urban development projects that can be replicated in other Palestinian cities. Last but not least, it is implemented in full partnership with public authorities and local stakeholders.

About the promoter and partner institutions

The Municipality of Jericho is the authority responsible for the implementation of the project, its financing and the management of the newly developed public facilities. The Municipal Council is currently administrated by 14 members appointed by the Palestinian National Authority, in addition to its permanent employees. All the facilities (slaughterhouse, vehicle workshop and other leisure facilities) are or will be public facilities owned by the Municipality of Jericho, and they will be built on public land. The Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF) is the entity that empowers and provides technical assistance to local authorities, and it will channel external financing from AFDs and other potential donors for the benefit of the Municipality of Jericho.

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