Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL) plans to invest billions of shekels as part of its comprehensive production development plan, COO Asher Grinbaum told "Globes". He estimates the investment at NIS 8-10 billion, including NIS 3 billion for building the salt harvesting infrastructures at the industrial pool (pool 5) in the southern basin of the Dead Sea, to prevent a rise in the pool's water level, which would flood the hotels at Ein Bokek.
Grinbaum said that this estimate included the development and expansion of production infrastructures at company facilities, centered on a new state-of-the-art bromine compounds plant. Israel Chemicals has one bromine plant at Ramat Hovav, and plans to build second plant to produce bromine-based fire retardants for the construction industry using innovative technology. He said that an additional NIS 2-3 billion would be invested in installing environmental protection technologies at the company's plants in the Negev, and to expand the use of clean energy sources.
Grinbaum said that the investments in infrastructures would create more than 1,000 new jobs in the Negev, adding to the company's 5,000-man workforce at Mishor Rotem, Ramat Hovav, and at the Dead Sea. "We're talking about 1,000 employees who will be directly working for Israel Chemicals, and there will be thousands of employees who will be hired by peripheral firms. For each Israel Chemicals employee, there are an additional five or six indirect employees. Israel Chemicals employees are paid two-and-a-half times the average national salary, which means that the government should prefer to consolidate and encourage industry in the south which compensates its employees well over industry that pays the minimum wage," he said.
However, sources at Israel Chemicals imply that the multibillion shekel investments should not be taken for granted, and that they are subject to shortening and bypassing bureaucracy at the planning commissions. "We have very big investment plans, and there are some things that we expect from the government and various authorities, beginning with the shortening of bureaucracy," said Grinbaum.
Israel Chemicals emphasizes that the company plans its investments years in advance, due to the complexity of the infrastructures, and it therefore seeks to maximize certainty. Grinbaum said, "On the basis of these plans, we make long-term commitments to our customers. If we encounter a problem, we'll be forced to seek alternatives in other places in the world where we operate. This could definitely happen, and we've already seen how Sodastream almost moved its production out of Israel because of the bureaucracy. We don’t want gifts and discounts, but we expect the various authorities to show mercy and help us."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 22, 2012
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