Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah laying the foundation stone for Centro Mall in Ramallah. (WAFA Images / Maan Khalifeh)

RAMALLAH, July 23, 2018 (WAFA) – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah laid on Monday the foundation stone for the largest mall in Palestine, Centro Mall, which will be built in Ramallah.

He praised such projects saying they help provide jobs and support the local economy at a time international aid to Palestine has declined by over 70 percent and with Israel’s dominion over Palestinian resources.

“In light of the decline in financial aid by 70 percent and Israel’s dominance over our resources, its piracy of our money and its efforts to weaken our national economy, we urgently need to maximize our capabilities and resources, strengthen our sectors and enhance investment opportunities,” he said at the ground-breaking ceremony.

Centro Mall will be built in Ramallah city center with an area of 70,000 square meters, half of it for parking, 2,000 square meters for a hyper market and the remaining 33,000 square meters for shops of various international and local brands. It is expected to have a total cost of $100 million, according to the owners, Abu Ein Group and Nabali and al-Faris Holdings.

Khaled al-Faris, one of the owners, said a world-standard mall with international specifications is expected to attract Palestinian shoppers from all over the West Bank who would prefer to shop at a Palestinian mall instead of going to Israeli malls.

M.K.