70% of grain imports are via Haifa Port.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that the board of Ashdod Port Company Ltd. has approved a NIS 296 million investment budget for 2008. The board passed the budget even though the new rates structure is still unclear. The Ashdod Port's five-year development plan for 2005-10 involves an investment of NIS 700 million.
The Ministries of Finance and Transport are formulating a new rates structure, which will affect the ports' revenue.
The board's discussion indicates that the primary project in the investment plan will be the installation of a grain conveyor belt at a cost of NIS 153 million at the new Rafael Eitan Port piers. Ships docking at the piers will unload their grain cargo onto a 2.1-kilometer conveyor belt to silos in Ashdod. The conveyor belt is aimed at boosting Ashdod Port's competitiveness against Haifa Port Company Ltd., which currently handles 70% of Israel's grain imports. This business is considered particularly profitable.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 24, 2008
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