Badhan, Nablus Governorate – The Palestinian Authority and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated the opening of a new road in the village of Badhan near Nablus on Tuesday. Minister of Public Works and Housing Kamal Hassunah and USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, together with Palestinian Authority Ministers, Governors, Palestinian dignitaries, and representatives of the Badhan community.

USAID contributed approximately $1 million to rehabilitate 1.3 kilometers of road and sidewalks, improving the traffic conditions and pedestrian safety of Badhan, which is a popular tourist site for Palestinians in the West Bank. The road connects the West Bank Governorates of Nablus, Tubas, Jenin, and Jericho, and serves the villages of Badhan, Taluza, Asira Al Shamaliyah, Yasid and Ja’ba. The construction work, which began in December 2008, generated approximately 2,675 -days of employment for Palestinians.

The Badhan road rehabilitation is part of USAID’s new 5-year, $300 million Infrastructure Needs Program, which aims to improve the quality of Palestinian infrastructure and help the Palestinian economy. During the first year of the program, USAID is providing $80 million to implement 17 projects, including schools, roads, and water distribution systems.

Over the years, USAID has funded a series of critically needed road projects to link Palestinian communities in the northern part of the West Bank. These projects include the internal road in Jenin City, 25.5 kilometers of Highway 60 that links Jenin and Nablus, whereby the road leading to Fandakomiyah, Ya’bad, and Arrabah was rebuilt, as well as 4 kilometers of the road inside Ya’abad. USAID funding also helped to build 10 kilometers of road between Tubas and Al-Farrah.

Since 1993, USAID has provided more than $2.2 billion in U.S. economic assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza via projects designed to reduce poverty, improve health and education, build infrastructure and water projects, create jobs, and promote democracy and good governance.