Africa-Israel Investments is planning to construct 500 housing units. No Israel Land Administration permit is needed for the land.
Africa-Israel Investments (TASE:AFIL) two weeks ago bought 100 dunam (25 acres) of private land from Kibbutz Afek for construction of 500 apartments. The land is under the jurisdiction of Kiryat Bialik and the Mate Asher Regional Council, near Haifa.
The land is one of the few compounds in Israel completely owned by a kibbutz (collective settlement), rather than by the Israel Land Administration (ILA). The planning and construction process will consequently be much simpler, which will reduce the developers’ costs.
Africa-Israel sources said last week, “The kibbutz bought the land decades ago, and presented the necessary documents to us. We were delighted to discover that the land was private, and that the ILA was not a factor in the project.”
The sources added, “Had the land been ILA property leased to the kibbutz, which is the usual situation, we would have had to buy the land under Resolution 727 of the ILA Council. That alone would have made us call off the deal, because the High Court of Justice has almost completely frozen all these transactions.”
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 25, 2004