The labor crisis has a very considerable social impact on the stability of the country, increasing the risk of detachment from the labor market and negative coping strategies, such as: crime, and illegal migration. The growing political tension, which has become particularly strong in East Jerusalem, in the Gaza Strip and in West Bank overall contributes to an even more precarious context.
Taking this into account, it is crucial to contribute to resilience building among Palestinian communities and to support the competitiveness of the private sector so that production rates can be not only maintained but expanded. Creative industries have the potential to employ young Palestinians, both men and women, generate income and build stability in the territories.
Context and Background
Concentrated in the Hebron area, the Palestinian footwear supply chain has lost its production capacity over the past few decades. Facilitated by the absence of customs barriers, foreign competition has succeeded to attract local demand with cheap, low-quality shoes. Despite their large production capacity, factories work 30% of their capacity. The current restrictions on the movement of goods have also impacted the footwear industries value chain competitiveness, especially in regard to materials supply and internationalization. In addition, the sector lacks professional and up-to-date shoe designers and model makers. With very few new models introduced in the market, plagiarism is a common practice that discourages the development of an effective industrial clustering.
To overcome these difficulties by means of contributing to the development of a sustainable, integrated, innovation-led, income-generating, labor-intensive and decarbonized value chain, the Project will design an eco-friendly, energy sustainable industrial village. Concerted with the Project’s stakeholders, a 20–40 hectare masterplan will be developed on land contributed by the private sector players to provide a cohesive conceptual layout of the Sustainable Shoe Village together with its facilities and infrastructures. Sustainable energy solutions will be integrated in the masterplan and combined with resource efficiency and circular economy practices. Trade, export, legal, and promotion facilities will be also integrated in the Sustainable Shoe Village design as cross-functional drivers for market growth.
The location and site of the Sustainable Shoe Village were proposed and identified by the private sector players and targeted enterprises in Hebron Governorate as part of their contribution into the project development. The designated land for the development of the Sustainable Shoe Village is 100-120 donums, and the project will initiate the first phase covering approximately 25-30 donums of this allocated land. Parallelly, UNIDO experts conducted thorough assessments of the site and initial environmental and social analysis confirming the suitability of the provided site for the development of the Sustainable Shoe Village. The Government of Palestine has explicitly provided its commitment to the project and pledged to provide the needed enabling infrastructures. The private sector institutions partnering for the project formed and registered a developer company responsible for handling investment, management and operation of the site and related business to support the development and sustainability of services.
Session description:
This presentation will highlight the development of interlinked industrial clusters and the implementation of eco-friendly industrial infrastructures have been integrated in the 2021-2023 National Development Plan as a priority strategy to establish a competitive advantage and foster the expansion of the business environment and the creation of new jobs.
This is in line with the objectives related to rebuild Palestine’s productive sectors, expand international trade and exports, support the private sector growth even through the investment in strategic infrastructures. The energy component represents another explicit priority for the State of Palestine, as indicated by the need to expand community access to reliable and sustainable energy, later confirmed by the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the State of Palestine.