"The collapse of the Dead Sea shore hotels will be a certainty within two years, unless the Ministries of Finance and Tourism allocate the necessary funds to finance a protective system. The hotel managers and the Tamar regional council have for several months been warning about the State’s helplessness in this matter. But each ministry puts the responsibility for financing the project on the other". "Globes" heard this from Tamar regional council head Yoav Givati.
Givati drew the attention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Minister of Finance Yaakov Neeman and Minister of Tourism Moshe Katzav to the matter of the imminent danger to the hotels. Despite repeated appeals, no funding was found.
Three years ago, a Dead Sea hotels flood protection system was constructed at a cost of NIS 35 million, financed by the Ministry of Finance. Civcon Engineering of Holland at the time submitted an inclusive plan for protecting the hotels against flooding. This, however, was rejected by the Ministry of Tourism due to its high $40 million cost.
According to Givati, the present flood protection system contains severe defects. "Out of concern and responsibility, I am serving warning as regards the present situation. Most regrettably, the entire matter is of no interest to government ministries, no ministers or ministry directors-general are losing any sleep over it. They are waiting for a disaster to happen, and then they will wake up".
According to Givati, the problem gets worse from day to day. "It is beginning to be really serious. To solve the expected flooding problem, the retaining wall needs to be made two metres higher, so that it will meet requirements for another eight years. This stage must be implemented immediately. The cost is NIS 24 million.
The Ministry of Tourism reported that no hotel protection project is being undertaken at this stage, due to lack of financing. A similar response came from the Ministry of Finance.
Published by Israel's Business Arena January 17, 1999