Amman:
A U.N. agency said Thursday that rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza will cost an estimated $30 billion to $40 billion and require an effort on a scale not seen since World War II.
“The United Nations Development Program's initial estimates for the reconstruction of… the Gaza Strip exceed $30 billion and could reach $40 billion,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General Abdallah al-Dardari.
“The scale of the destruction is enormous and unprecedented. This is a mission that the world community has not faced since World War II,” Dardari told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman.
He added that if Gaza's reconstruction were carried out through the normal process, “it could take decades, and the Palestinian people do not have the luxury of waiting decades.”
“It is therefore important that we act quickly to rehouse people in decent housing and get their lives back to normal – economically, socially, in terms of health and education.”
“This is our top priority and must be achieved within the first three years after the end of hostilities.”
He estimated the total debris from bombings and explosions at 37 million tons.
“We are talking about a colossal figure, and this figure is increasing every day,” he said. “The latest data shows that we are already approaching 40 million tons.”
The UN official also said that “72 percent of all residential buildings have been partially or completely destroyed.”
“Reconstruction must be planned carefully, efficiently and with extreme flexibility, because we do not know how the war will end” and what kind of post-war governance will be established in the Gaza Strip
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