Beersheva District Court Judge Alon Yosef dismissed administrative petitions filed by Mul Hayam and Ofek Rehasim against the Israel Land Administration, the Ministry of Tourism, and H.I.P.M.A. Eilat Ltd. The petitioners asked the court to bar construction of a $35 million entertainment center in Eilat. Mul Hayam owns the “Mul Hayam” shopping mall, considered the most profitable in Israel.
The two petitioners asserted that a new plan initiated and deposited by H.I.P.M.A. Eilat several months ago, which provides for the construction of a 17,500-sq.m. shopping area on the northern seafront in Eilat, constitutes an extremely material change in the tender through which the land was allocated to H.I.P.M.A. Eilat in 1997. The petitioners also allege violation of the principle of equality.
H.I.P.M.A. Eilat argued that its entertainment center was unique in Israel, combining an ice park, a skating rink of Olympic dimensions, a skiing simulator, and other features, together with commercial, restaurant, and entertainment areas. The company said that its project would transform the center of Eilat’s entertainment district. H.I.P.M.A. Eilat added that the tender in question had ended many years ago, and could not be challenged after its completion.
Mul Hayam issued NIS 351 million bonds over the past year against its revenue from rent in its shopping mall. The investigation of this matter is liable to affect the rating of the company’s bonds and the results of the issue.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on June 26, 2005