Ministry of Finance accountant general Shuki Oren today signed an agreement for financing the expansion of the Hadera desalination plant by 27 million cubic meters per year.
After the expansion the Hadera plant will be producing 127 cubic meters per year. The price for purchasing water will be NIS 2.6 per cubic meter, which is the cheapest price fixed to date in desalination tenders. The installation will be built by H2ID a joint venture owned in equal shares by Arison unit Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd. (Housing and Construction) (TASE: HUCN) and IDE Technologies Ltd., which is owned jointly by Delek Group Ltd. (TASE:DLEKG) and Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL).
Expanding the desalination plant is part of the government initiative to expand the plants in Ashkelon and Palmachim as well as Hadera by a total of 57 million cubic meters per year.
The banking finance for expanding the plant will be from the same consortium of foreign banks that financed the main Hadera plant. The consortium is led by the European Investment Bank and includes the French bank Credit Lyonnaise and the Portuguese bank Espirito Santo.
This will be the largest ever infrastructure project funded by the European Investment Bank in Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 11, 2009
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