The major development project planned by the Israel Land Administration (ILA) at the Pi Glilot junction, including lands to be vacated by the gas storage facility, will be severely reduced, Ehud (Udi) Ben-Shach told " Globes" today. Ben-Shach's comments follow Minister of Infrastructure Joseph Paritzky's decision to keep the gas storage tanks in place, and not vacate the facility by June 2004, as planned.
PazGaz, together with parent company Paz Oil Co., is part owner of the land at Pi Glilot. The land is slated for the development of a major real estate project, the largest of its kind ever planned by the ILA.
Ben-Shach, a real-estate developer himself, believes that leaving the gas storage tanks at Pi Glilot, even if buried underground, will reduce the size of the project by one-third or even one-half. The Amisragas and PazGaz tanks occupy a 60 dunam area (15 acres), of which 40 dunam (10 acres) are owned by PazGaz and 20 dunam (5 acres) are owned by Amisragas. However, Ben-Shach said he believes that it will be impossible to build within a 500 dunam (125 acre) radius of the gas tanks, even if they are underground.
The total area slated for real estate development by the ILA covers about 1,500 dunam (375 acres). This is the largest project of its kind planned for Israel in the coming years, consisting of tens of thousands of housing units, as well as hundreds of thousands of square meters in commercial and industrial space.
167 dunam (41.75 acres) belongs to Pi Glilot Ltd., the gas companies, the ILA, the Tel Aviv Burial Society, and private owners.
According to Ben-Shach, "When I look at the issue from an ownership point of view, I say there is no other alternative. The best solution is to leave the gas tanks in their present location, but bury them underground.
"We said all along to every infrastructure minister, that the best place for a gas storage facility would be Ashdod, as the site there, (belonging to the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co.) is fairly close to the center of the country, and would not require hauling the gas tanks for a long distance
"Relocation to the Negev region is unrealistic, and regretably, the Ashdod option is also unrealistic. I welcome Paritzky's new initiative of putting the tanks underground at the present location. This should be done for a predetermined period of time, or for an unlimited period of time. This is apparently the only realistic solution.
There was no doubt, Ben-Shach said, that "we as a gas company are in an operational bind. On one hand, there are clearly defined court and government rulings that we must vacate the Pi Glilot junction by June 2004. On the other hand, there are no alternative locations.
"We don't operate according to the dictates of real estate but only out of operational considerations. We also hold landowners rights, and are supposed to benefit from the future real estate development project, but first and foremost, we must tend to our operational needs, and the orderly supply of gas to Israel's consumers.
As of web posting, the ILA had not responded to ''Globes'' queries on the matter.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 07 September 2003