Gaza Commercial Seaport
 PLO began preparing the studies for
establishing seaport in Palestine since
1993
 in 1998 the PNA completed all necessary
studies for the establishment of the port.
 Since the Oslo agreement in 1993 the
negotiations for the implementation of this
project has not been approved by Israeli
 The project approved in September 1999
through the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement.
Project finance
 Total implementation cost of the first phase I is
about U.S. $ 70 million.
 The Governments of the Netherlands and France
financed a major part of the costs (Netherland
22,843,296 and France 19,744,902 Euro)
 The PNA take advantage of a loan from the European
Investment Bank (23,678,300USD)
 Palestinian National Authority to cover part of the
cost of the project in addition to the acquisition of
land (4.5mUSD and 0.25m Euro)
Development in the project
implementation
 On April 2000 the Palestinian National Authority with Dutch
French conglomerate called (EGDG2000) signed the port
construction contract
 The contract entered into force on July 2000, and the project
implementation period is 25 months
 the work on the project Continued until October 2000 where
contractor withdrew claiming the applicability of force majeure
 On 17 and 18 September Israeli tanks destroyed the project site
 In May 2003, the contract has broken with the contractor
 Currently the Ministry of Transport Communicating with the
donors to re-activate this strategic project
Maritime Transport Integrated
System
Alternatives transport by short shuttling service
Dr. Ali Shaat
Eng. Ziad Obied
Eng. Saed Aboesa
Eng. Ashraf Y. Abed
Eng. Mohammed AboOun
Vision
To develop a distinctive transport sector, which
provides necessary services to regulate a
high-quality transport industry in order to
contribute in developing and sustaining
Palestinian economy...
Aims
 To establish reliable, efficient, integrated,
and environmentally sustainable maritime
activities
 To implement intermodal door-to-door
connections within the border logistics
and supply chain management systems.
Problem identification
 Palestinian area Consist of two
geographically separated regions,
West Bank and Gaza Strip
 Despite the long seacoast of the
Gaza strip, international trades
are completely depending on the
neighbouring countries, especially
Israel.
Problem identification
The security concerns of the Israeli has an impact on
 Restriction on The movement and access at the
West Bank and Gaza Strip
 The international borders of the Palestine
The multiple obstacles and procedures facing the
Palestinian traders contribute significantly to:
 Hamper trade
 Increase Costs
 Unreliable logistics services
Which reduce the ability to compete in the
international market
Restrictions on the movement
 Internal movement within the West Bank
 Movement between the West Bank and the Gaza
strip
 Movement across the West Bank and Gaza to
Israel and global markets
 Direct access to Arab markets and global markets
via Egypt and Jordan
Average transport cost for
trucking
Origin
Border
crossing
Port
Transport
Total
Ashdod
$322
$589
$911
Haifa
$384
$588
$972
Ashdod
$161
$589
$750
Haifa
$345
$588
$933
Port Said
$546
$438
$984
West Bank
Gaza
(USAID & World Bank, December, 2004)
Impact on Trade
 Delays and uncertainty at the border crossings
 Lack of flexibility in the routing of goods
 The need to use Israeli trucks in Israel
 Multiple inspections per shipment
 Limitations on the personal travel of Palestinian
exporters
Economic approaches for logistic
solution during the interim period
1. Development of the border crossings with Israel to satisfy
the condition of movement across the West Bank and Gaza
Strip
2. Enhancing new trade routes with Egypt and Jordan to
satisfy the condition of direct access to the regional and
global markets
3. The reconstruction of Gaza Seaport and Airport as the
best option to satisfy the previous conditions
4. Connecting the West Bank and Gaza Strip ( the territorial
link) to satisfy the condition of movement between the
Gaza Strip and West Bank
1. Border crossing approach
 Current system
 Extra handling costs, delays and damages to
goods
 Uncertainty in the delivery of exports
 Just in time not considered
 Excessive trucking charges
Container transfer system
 Proposed system
2. New trade routes
 Short-Sea shuttling service
between Palestine and Egypt
 Temporally using the existing
infrastructure of the Gaza fishery
port
 The use of Egyptian Seaport ( ELArish)
 The project comprises preparation
of an efficient maritime traffic
system
The advantages of using EL-Arish
port
 It is a small port & does not have that much of
traffic
 It is the nearest seaport to Gaza strip and
Palestinian agents can freely work jointly with their
Egyptian counterparts.
 Cost wise it is cheaper than any other nearby
seaport
The current status of Gaza Fishery port
 The diameter of the basin is around 400 m
 The water depth of the harbor basin is about 5 m
 The port entrance channel is around 70m
 Around 50,000 sq.m reclaimed land make the
accommodation of the cargo handling activities
possible
 Lack of infrastructure and superstructure
Project objectives..1
 Consider the first physical step towards linking
Palestine regionally and internationally
 Providing Palestine with sea transport facilities
would constitute a vital instrument to promote
trade
 No delays and no damage to goods will occur
compared to current ones
 Reduce all direct and indirect costs and time for
the handling and transporting goods
Project objectives….2
 providing valuable information and data needed
for management and operation toward the
commercial Gaza Seaport
 project will terminate the illegal trading through
underground tunnels
 can acts as a logistic centre “bounded area” to
serve Palestine
Fishery port development
requirements
 Technical needs to operate the project
Development of a port marketing strategy
Maintaining and interpreting traffic and
shipping information
Programming future port operation
expansions
Drafting of regulatory matters relating to
the seaport operations
Tariffs that will not only attract the target
cargo but also create opportunities for
private sector involvement.
Waste management strategy.
Development of capacities for MARPOL
73/78 implementation and enforcement
Development of national regulation for
fishing vessels.
Development SAR (Search and Rescue)
procedures in Palestine
 superstructure needs
 Forklifts
 Flatbed trailers
 Tractors
 Mobile cranes
 Buoys and beacons and workboat
 Complete workshop with tools
 Stevedoring gear e.g. slings, ropes, pallet hooks
and pallets
 Miscellaneous e.g. radio and telecom
 infrastructure needs
 Reconstruction of the existing breakwater
 Reconstruction of the existing quay
 Dredging the basin area
 Transport infrastructure
 Constructing cargo handling terminal,
administrative building etc..
3.Territorial link between the West
Bank and Gaza Strip
 It would enhance large effective internal
market to guarantee full economic
integration
 Provide pathway between the economy of
the West Bank and the future Gaza
Seaport
 Reduction in cost and time
The Future Commercial Gaza
Seaport
 The Seaport would be the engine for
economic growth at Palestine
 The seaport should be integrated with
rail/road networks to reduce the time and
transactions cost and enable door to door
services.
 The Gaza Seaport will be able to establish
connections with the global ports
Distance between main Eastern
Mediterranean ports and Gaza Seaport
Distance
(nm)
Days at
Sea
Total Ocean
charge
Port charges
per
FEU
Gioia Tauro
1008
1.75
5
0.44
443.52
100
543.52
Malta Free port
992
1.72
5
0.44
436.48
100
536.48
Piraeus
624
1.08
5
0.44
274.56
100
374.56
Limassol
158
0.27
5
0.44
69.52
100
169.52
Taranto
963
1.67
5
0.44
423.72
100
523.72
Beirut
173
0.30
5
0.44
76.12
100
176.12
Tortuous
236
0.41
5
0.44
103.84
100
203.84
Port Said
85
0.15
5
0.44
37.40
100
137.40
Haifa
105
0.18
5
0.44
46.20
100
146.20
Port
Dwell time
At
port
Ocean Freight
rate/(nm)
Total
Charge
$
Conclusion and recommendations
 Infrastructure upgrade along the main
corridors
 Improving the efficiency of border
management agencies
 Optimization of information flow
 Gaza seaport and Airport should be
reconstructed
 Territorial link between the West Bank
and Gaza Strip should be established
 Enhancement of the trade logistics
system, which permits a secure, reliable
and competitive trading environment.
 Temporally connecting the shuttling
service between El-Arish and the existing
Gaza fishery port should be a priority to
diversify the Palestinians imports and
exports.