Soreq desalination tender yields low water price

All three consortia in the tender have submitted bids of less than NIS 2.50 per cubic meter of fresh water.

The NIS 2 billion tender for the Soreq desalination plant tender, Israel's largest, has marked up a success. Sources inform ''Globes'' that all three consortia in the tender have submitted bids of less than NIS 2.50 per cubic meter of fresh water. The price for desalinated water in the Hadera desalination tender was set at NIS 2.60 per cubic meter.

The three consortia are:

The differences between the three bids are so narrow that the government is considering holding an auction, although no decision has been made yet. The price for the desalinated water will affect the tender for the Ashdod desalination plant by Mekorot National Water Company, and the Ministry of Finance Accountant General presumably does not want to set too high a price.

The Soreq desalination plant will produce 150 million cubic meters of fresh water a year.

The Ministry of Finance said, "So long as the tender process for the construction of the Soreq desalination plant is not over, the tenders committee will not comment on the process for reviewing the bids, nor will it comment on speculation by various parties."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 22, 2009

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009

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