The Med-Dead Cooperative Initiative (MDCI) is a Cooperation through Prosperity program that provides water and power to the region shared by Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians. The Med-Dead Cooperative Initiative focuses on developing renewable water and energy resources.

The unique approach of the MDCI is a departure from the Road Map and other politically onerous plans using “land for peace” models that have only led to stalemates and continued violence.  The MDPI is an action plan for building the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project a renewable water and energy project. The outcome of working together to build the MD-WEC is tangible economic security from the development of renewable water and energy resources.  Building the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project will bring about a future of hope and prosperity for Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanians in the shared Dead Sea region.

Why will the MDCI work where others have failed? The MDCI is designed to immediately provide jobs and economic opportunities separate from political boundary negotiations. It directly addresses the central economic issues and environmental problems:

1.Palestinians do not have a sustainable economy, unemployment is extremely high and jobs creation is non-existent

2.Severe water shortages and insufficient electric power generation plague local communities and the entire region

3.Main water sources for Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians are predicted to irreversibly fail within a generation – the Sea of Galilee, the West Bank Mountain Aquifers and the Jordan River have now surpassed historically stable levels

4.The Dead Sea itself is declining by 1-meter each year and is projected to dry up and essentially disappear around 2050. Other than evaporation, which is significant, this is primarily a man-made problem. Unfortunately similar events have happened in other regions, and scientists have predictable models to reach this conclusion

5.Moreover, the informed consensus is that the next war in the Middle East will be fought over water, not oil

How does the MDCI work where others have failed? The following seven Cooperation Points are structured to bring long-term solutions with short-term stability implications.

Cooperation Point One: Propose a Prosperity Engine

The Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project is the engine to propel and sustain development and growth in the Jordan River Valley and Dead Sea basin.  A 72-kilometer underground pipeline (conduit) coupled with hydroelectric power will provide energy and desalinated water for the region.  This Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project is the foundation of the MDCI Prosperity for Cooperation.  Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project will solve the region’s long-term needs and become a building block for a sustainable economy.

Cooperation Point Two: Create Water & Power Treaty

The immediate benefits of the MDCI / Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project are significant. First will be the creation of a cooperation agreement between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Jordan, to create a venue for the Dead Sea Water Energy District (DS-WED).  This new cooperative, chartered entity will allocate the power generated and water distributions along the proposed filling levels for the Dead Sea.  This DS-WED Treaty will become the basis for continued cooperation in the development and construction within the DS-WED.

Cooperation Point Three: Provide New Jobs

Building the initial infrastructure will create a surge in Palestinian employment. Thousands will be employed to construct this historic water and energy conduit. It will infuse the Palestinian economy with thousands of well-earning, gainfully employed persons – a catalyst for broad growth throughout the region. Israel and Jordan will also see an increase in jobs across sectors, supporting stable economic prosperity.

New infrastructure for roads, power, cities and support services will be built in support of this state-of-the-art tunneling and construction project. 

Palestinian workers could be employed to construct the reservoirs and the eastern pipelines in the West Bank. Jordanian and Israeli workers will build the earth dam at the south of the Dead Sea. New concrete factories, road construction and other facilities will be needed to support the 5 ~ 10-year Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project project and additional canals and pipelines for the desalinization and irrigation projects. Heavy and light construction for the main and support projects will be significant. Housing, commercial and retail construction projects will spring up at all phases of the project. Residential and resort construction will boom under this Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project and its related development projects. The positive economic ripple effects into the economies of the stakeholders will be significant and sustained.

Cooperation Point Four: Build the Med Sea Reservoirs

The Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project will bring water from the Med Sea to a desalination reservoir at -40 elevation some 350 meters above the Dead Sea. This new reservoir will provide the constant water levels for the Jericho Desal Plant. This reservoir will have stable shoreline to potentially be developed into a recreation lake with resorts and high end housing developments.

Cooperation Point Five: Construct a Hydroelectric Power Plant

After dropping 1,200 feet from the reservoir above, the water will drive a set of generators producing 800 to 1,600 megawatts of power. This environmentally sound and unlimited source of fossil fuel free energy will be allocated as per the DS-WED Peace Treaty terms to:

a.Provide electricity to desalinate the Mediterranean Sea water

b.Supply electrical power to the Palestinian Authority

c.Provide electrical power to Israel and Jordan

Cooperation Point Six:  Israel, Palestinian Authority & Jordan build Desalination Plants

Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project will refill the Dead Sea and stabilizing the region’s water table pressures saving both the Dead Sea and the mountain aquifers.  It will provide hydroelectric power generation and an unlimited quantity of the Med Sea water will be desalinated and diverted into fresh water conduits.

The salt brine created from desalination will be pumped deep into the Dead Sea below the Mediterranean water level. Discharged brine from desalination is similar in density to that of the Dead Sea water, which makes this project site an ideal location for desalinization in addition to it providing a renewable water and energy for all three stakeholders.

The Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project will generate the electrical power needed to support multiple desalinization plants around the Dead Sea and the Med Sea Reservoir, and it will provide significant supply support to the increasing populations in Israel, the PA and Jordan. The current conceptual design estimates that over 1,600 megawatts can be generated. This region will become energy independent, using the renewable water source and hydropower generation of the MD-WEC, and thus it will be able to produce electricity without hydrocarbons from oil imports.

Cooperation Point Seven:  Develop the Land

The Dead Sea will be restored to its historic 1960’s shoreline level that is approximately 90 feet above the current watermark (filled to -400 elevation). Along the new shoreline, vibrant water projects, marinas, resorts and new cities can be developed. The Dead Sea region’s economic development will dramatically increase and enhance the value of this otherwise uninhabited 50+ kilometers of shoreline.

Entirely new industries will emerge as the Dead Sea becomes alive with a seawater ecology, aquaculture and fisheries industry. Resort boating, sailing and more will emerge as the area matures and grows. Dead Sea shorelines will also be developed to create a prosperous inland-sea tourism destination.

Water & Energy Production: a Private and Government Enterprise

The Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project is proposed as a public-private partnership that will use the design-build-operate (DBO) financial structure to implement the project. As such, private financing can facilitate the construction of infrastructure and an independent power producer (IPP) operate the hydropower facilities for a fixed term. The IPP would have an option to continue operating the facilities under sub-contract to the DS-WED. Private investments could be used and the participating governments would provide all rights of way, water rights, land for the reservoir and plant operations, as well as construction for connecting roads and the power grid for the project. The governments will also be responsible for security for all construction projects and installations in the construction and operations phases of the project.

Urgency and Rationale

The water crisis in Israel, Palestine and Jordan has created an urgent predicament for all in the region. Lack of water will continue to be a major factor contributing to instability in this region, and eradicating water conflict constitutes the rationale underpinning the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project. Concerned citizens from among all three stakeholders agree that the Med-Dead Cooperative Initiative (MDCI) provides a sustainable economic plan for the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Project to Save the Dead Sea. This renewable water and energy infrastructure project provides a long-term solution to the problems threatening this region’s prospects for survival and inhabitability. Cooperation through prosperity is a win-win-win track that all three governments can build upon while providing a better life for their people.

The Med-Dead Cooperative Initiative will benefit and prosper Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians without negative displacement of any people group or community.