The finance for the project will be provided primarily by international philanthropists and investors.
The cabinet today unanimously approved the proposal of Vice Premier Shimon Peres under which the "Peace Valley" will become a national priority project. The billion dollar project will be financed primarily by donations from international philanthropists and overseas investors.
The Peace Valley project extends over a 500 kilometer section along the Arava and Jordan Valleys. The proposal calls for the proposal of several joint tourism schemes, as well as water desalination and electricity production projects, the building of a new airport at Aqaba, the opening of an industrial and agricultural center in the Jordan Valley with aid from the Japanese government, a joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial zone in northern Samaria, and the joining of Israel and Jordan's railway networks.
The construction of a pipeline, originally conceived by the late Minister of Finance Yitzhak Modai, will cost in excess of $2 billion alone. The new airport at Aqaba was first proposed in 1993 and will require substantial foreign investment if it is ever to reach fruition.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 11, 2007
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