The Ministry of Environmental Protection advises building the gas terminal for the Tamar gas field at Hadera. A ministry official told the National Planning and Building Commission that this option would cause the environmental damage than other alternatives.
The National Planning Commission is due to decide today between the six sites which were reviewed for an environmental survey on the gas terminal. Hundreds of Hof Hacarmel residents, who oppose sites on the coastline in the area, including at Dor, demonstrated outside the Planning Council's offices.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Ministry of Environmental Protection believes that upgrading the Hadera terminal, next to the sewage treatment plant, is the best option, followed by building the terminal at Dor South on land of Kibbutz Maayan Zvi, which was considered the leading alternative until two weeks ago.
The ministry's position improves the chances that the National Planning Commission will decide on the Hadera site for the purpose of an advanced environmental study. The commission also intends to promote a seventh alternative - a site south of Akko - if none of the six current alternatives are chosen.
The gas terminal will occupy a 150-dunam (32.5-acre) site, which will receive natural gas from Tamar and send to the natural gas pipeline owned by Natural Gas Pipelines Ltd. The National Planning Commission must approve the terminal if the timetable for the start of gas deliveries in 2012-13 is to be met.
The environmental study looked at six sites: Dor South, Dor North, Hadera, Caesarea, Ashdod, and the Ein Ayala quarry.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 6, 2010
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