Monthly Progress Report for RAS AL TAWIL & AL ‘UDDEISA WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PHASE 1A AND AL SAFI BOOSTER STATION – PHASE I PIPELINE CONNECTION

The program focuses on the rehabilitation or construction of roads, water, wastewater, and buildings construction projects. This project, Task Order No. AID-294-TO-14-00002, is the first water project under the LCP and is designed to improve water supply distribution capacity and flexibility in the West Bank Water Department's southern area of operations. The project objective is to improve distribution of water from the Halhul Reservoir and supply to Bani Naim and Yatta communities. The scope of work includes the installation of approximately 5 km of 500-mm diameter steel pipe transmission main, 5 km of 150-mm diameter steel pipe supply pipeline, and related accessories. The project also involves the installation of emergency service connections at Ras Al Tawil & Al 'Uddeisa villages and a 16-inch yard-pipe connection from an adjacent 36-inch PWA supply pipeline to the Al Safi Booster Station balance tank. The project team consists of Saqqa and Khoudary Co. Ltd. as the contractor, Black and Veatch as the Construction Management Contractor (CMC), and USAID West Bank and Gaza as the client. The project has a total contract value of $4,462,836.00 and a project total amount of $4,242,836.00. The project is expected to be completed within 360 calendar days, with a contractual completion date of October 29, 2015. As of January 31, 2015, the project has achieved 4% actual percentage of completion, which is below the planned percentage of completion of 4.47%. The project dashboard status indicates that the contract elapsed time is 24.44%, and the float (days) is zero. The project team has conducted safety tool box meetings for all employees, focusing on topics such as fire extinguisher usage, personal protective equipment (PPE), and traffic control. The safety plan, submitted on November 09, 2014, and resubmitted on December 01, 2014, aims to achieve "Zero Losses" by incorporating quality, production, efficiency, and safety into each job. The plan was approved by the CMC on December 08, 2014. The project team has also conducted regular safety meetings and has implemented safety measures to prevent employee injury, property damage, loss of production, and occupational illnesses. The project has made significant progress in the first month, with the installation of approximately 1 km of 500-mm diameter steel pipe transmission main and 1 km of 150-mm diameter steel pipe supply pipeline. The project team has also completed the installation of related accessories, including a service connection to Bani Naim Reservoir and three flow meter vaults. The project is expected to continue making progress in the coming months, with a focus on completing the remaining scope of work and achieving the project objectives.