The National Planning and Building Commission today accepted the recommendation of the Southern Region Planning and Building Commission and approved construction of an eight storey - 160 room hotel on Eilat's Coral Beach.
The Commission had previously cancelled a clause in National Outline Plan 13 prohibiting additional construction in the area in order to allow a private entrepreneur to receive approval for the planned six-storey building.
The matter will now be passed onto the government for final approval.
The location of the planned hotel on Eilat's southern beach opposite the underwater observatory and adjacent to the Arcadia Hotel is in a very sensitive marine environment. Construction of the hotel on the site of an abandoned two storey commercial center is opposed by environmentalists.
A spokesman for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) said, "To our regret the national commission has preferred the narrow interest of a private entrepreneur over the broader interest of the public at large. SPNI thinks that Eilat's beaches are a national asset."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 3, 2009
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