The opening of the SGP supported project on "Utilizing Solar Energy for Lighting of the Wadi Gaza Bridge" on September 15th marked the first project in Palestine to use renewable energy for public lighting. The Wadi Gaza Bridge is of particular significance as a part of the bottle neck coastal road connecting Gaza city and other areas of the Gaza Strip running parallel to the Wadi Gaza wetland, a nationally conserved site.

Among the numerous projects supported by SGP Palestine, this small project using photovoltaic cells for street lighting has attracted particular attention from senior officials of the Palestinian Government. His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Information, Dr. Nabeal Sha'at, who kindly inaugurated the project, stated that "this project is small in budget; however, it is very big in its contribution to the environment conservation". He also added that "the project demonstrated an innovative solution to overcome the scarcity of energy resources (...) and illustrated an outstanding collaboration between the government and the civil society".

The ceremony was also attended by his Excellency the Minister of Energy, Mr. Azzam Al Shawa, the Governor of the Middle area of Gaza, the Head of the UNDP Office in Gaza, Mr. Khaled Abdel Shafi, Eng. Bashar Ashour from the Palestinian Hydrology Group (GEF/SGP Grantee) and more than 100 representatives of government and community organizations.