Ashkelon Municipality has signed the largest-ever umbrella agreement with the Israeli government, which will ensure the city's rapid growth in the coming years. The agreement calls for the construction of 30,000 housing units in seven new neighborhoods, which will make Ashkelon the country's sixth largest city by 2025. Ashkelon is currently Israel's 13th largest city with a population of 135,000, according to the Globes-Duns 100 rankings.
The umbrella agreement signed between the municipality and three government agencies the Israel Land Authority, Ministry of Construction and Housing, and Ministry of Finance also includes major infrastructure projects such as three highway interchanges and advanced public transport solutions.
At the signing ceremony, Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon said, "We will restore apartment prices to natural and normal levels as part of the government's buyer's price housing plan, which is making the government the biggest building developer."
Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni welcomes the signing of the new umbrella agreement, and called on the government to restore the city's Industrial Priority Zone A status, which grants a package of tax incentives to potential businesspeople setting up enterprises in the city.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 30, 2015
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