The Shibam Urban Development Project (SUDP) is a German-Yemeni Cooperation Project. It aimed at linking heritage conservation of the World Heritage Site of Shibam with direct economic and social benefits for local communities and institutions. The Project received management services and technical support from the GIZ, and it received funding from the German Government and had strong cooperation agreements for joint initiatives with several Yemeni National and local counterparts.  The SUDP was presented with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007.  

The project has a wide operational program embracing four components:

• Heritage conservation (housing and monuments restored by master builders)

• Economic development (women, crafts and agriculture)

• Community initiatives

• Infrastructure (solid waste management, technical infrastructure: water, electricity, sewage, streets, lighting)

Our experts (pre-LUGARIT) offered the following services for the project:

• Forming cooperation agreements and strategies with counterpart organizations

• working alongside local authorities and NGOs to establish work plans and priorities.

• Creating financial and technical tools for community-based restoration and rehabilitation.

• Offering technical and managerial assistance to local government, aiding the decentralization process at the local level.

• Steering projects in heritage conservation, infrastructure, municipal services, solid waste management, community and economic development, women's education, and empowerment.

• Developing work programs to empower local NGOs in development, agriculture, culture, and tourism.

• Designing training modules for NGO capacity building in literacy, education, and women's economic development in Shibam District, with a focus on training local women trainers.

• Preparing annual budgets, work plans, and funding proposals for preservation and urban development in Shibam, including co-financing agreements and reports to donors.

• Establishing a result-based monitoring system with a strong focus on gender mainstreaming.

• Supervising the project team of architects, engineers, social workers, and planners, and managing outsourcing contracts for consultants.

• Participating in working groups to enhance the company's national performance in Yemen, contributing to initiatives like the GIZ Yemen office and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).