Minister of Environmental Protection Amir Peretz today told the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee that the currently planned route for the Eilat railway would sow destruction through at least six nature reserves. He said that the environmental damage would be at Nahal Zin, Ein Yahav, the Judean Desert, Mishor Yamin, and the Big Crater.
Peretz told the committee that the planned route had not obtained his approval. "The planning should only begin after I agree to it. At the moment, the planners are jeopardizing NIS 100 million. It is possible that after the plan is submitted to me for approval, it will be necessary to reopen the subject and submit a new plan," he said.
Peretz said that the Ministry of Environmental Protection proposed protecting the nature reserves which were liable to be damaged by the Eilat railway by building sections of the line underground. "Has anyone fooled themselves that I would accept damage to nature reserves as a given? Israel is still a country of laws, and I suggest that everyone who talks about high-speed trains should stop at the stations where we will insist that the law be upheld in full. This is a critical venture, but the bigger the project, the smaller the discussion around it.
"There has been no review of the significance of the project on the Gulf of Eilat. After all, the railway will not go to the current port, which means that either Eilat will be a city of trucks moving between railway terminals and the ships in the port, or a deep water channel will be dredged with a new port at the end. In the latter case, it is unclear how the plan will affect the Gulf of Eilat. It's inconceivable for such a large project to be half-baked, and there is a need to discuss the entire process."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 21, 2013
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