In an effort to expand economic activity, achieve growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and sustainable growth of the national economy, while reducing the trade balance deficit and increasing Palestinian Treasury revenues , PIF established the Massader Company for the Development of Natural Resources and Infrastructure Projects to play a leading role in the development of large scale strategic projects aimed at the development and utilization of Palestinian natural resources (Hydrocarbons and Renewable) and the provision of various sources of national energy supply, in addition to developing the basic infrastructure of the Electricity sector, all with an aim of creating a firm foundation for an independent Palestinian state.
Objectives of Massader Company
Investment Programs
Massader Company works on implementing a large investment program combining the resources of the public sector and the capabilities of the private sector. The approximate size of this program is $2.5 billion, with PIF’s contribution at about $200 million. This investment program includes the following major projects:-
The Palestinian Natural Gas field is located in Palestinian maritime zones opposite the shores of the Gaza Strip and it includes about 1 trillion cubic feet of Natural Gas (approximately 32 billion cubic meters), thus providing suitable quantities for commercial development of the field to meet Palestinian market demand related to power generation of Electric energy and to export the surplus quantities to neighboring markets. PIF owns 17.5% of the developmental rights related to this Gas Field which is being developed in partnership with the Consolidated Subcontractors Company (CCC) which owns 27.5% and Shell Company which owns 55%. The development costs of this projects are estimated at about $1.1 billion.
The West Bank Oil Field is located in an area of 432 square-km extending from north-west of Ramallah city to the north of Qalqilya city. Preliminary assessments indicate the presence of Hydrocarbon resources (oil and gas) in this field. These assessments will be verified by implementing an oil prospecting and exploration program. PIF will sign a Production-Sharing Agreement with the Government of Palestine to develop this field through establishing a PIF led national consortium. PIF will also enlist the support of specialized and experienced international companies to develop and utilize the Hydrocarbon resources. The investment size of this project is estimated at around $390 million.
This project aims to build the first plant to generate electric power in the northern West Bank in the Jenin Governorate , with a generation capacity of approximately 400 Megawatts, plant fueled by Natural Gas. This project is being developed through the Palestine Power Generation Company (PPGC) which is supported by a leading group of Palestinian investors including the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) contributing 39.6%, Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO) contributing 20%, Palestine Telecommunications Group (PalTel) contributing 10%, Arab Bank Group with 10%, Palestine Electric Company with 5%, Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC) with 4 along with an important group of banks including the Bank of Palestine, Al-Quds Bank and Cairo- Amman Bank. The Company has signed a Letter of Intent with the developers of the Palestinian Natural Gas field for the supply of natural gas to meet all the demand of the power pant. The project will supply approximately 50% of the current demand of the Palestinian market for electricity. Power generation from the plant is expected to commence at the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020. The cost of developing this project is approximately $620 million U.S.
This Fund aims to encourage the production of clean electric energy from renewable sources through small producers (the Domestic sector, Business and Small Enterprises sector, and the Public sector). The project will use the surfaces of buildings to establish systems for producing electric energy from solar panels. Also, this Fund will work on building clusters of small solar energy fields to serve a group of small-sized production for the Business and Small Enterprises sector. Additionally, this project will work on developing the personal capacities of employees in the fields of designing, building, operation and maintenance in the Solar Energy sector in terms of training, adoption and rehabilitation. This project production capacities are expected reach about 35 Megawatts with an investment size of $50 million U.S.
This project aims to build a group of medium-tolarge sized solar energy farms to diversify sources of electricity supply to be feed into the main load centers in several places across the country. The Project’s total generation capacity is expected to reach approximately 70 Megawatts from several distributed solar energy sites, with an average generation of about 10 Megawatts per site. This bundle of projects will developed through entering into competitive bids or submitting direct offers/ bids in several suitable locations for this purpose. The preliminary assessments indicate that the estimated size of investment in this project will reach about $100 million U.S.
This project aims to convert the Power Plant in the Gaza Strip to natural gas and to double its production capacity with the aim of reducing the cost of electric power generation and supplying additional electricity, at the backdrop of the major deficit in electricity supply to the Gaza Strip. Solving the energy crisis in the Gaza Strip is imperative and will enable the development of other vital projects, in particular those related to water resources, seawater desalination and waste water treatment. The Project’s overall production capacity is expected to be 280 Megawatts with an additional investment size of about $200 million.
Massader’s Future Projects
Massader’s Work & Investment Program will focus in the first phase on developing a bundle of Energy-related projects and developing Hydrocarbon resources, due to the strategic importance of these projects and the dire need to develop the basic infrastructure of the energy sector. Massader will expand its investment program at a later stage to include the following vital sectors:-
