The Ministry of Defense Engineering and Construction Department today began its historic evacuation of the first buildings in the Tzrifin military camp near Rishon Lezion, 98 years after it was built by the British army.
After completing the planning and logistics work, the Ministry of Defense, helped by civilian contractors, began disassembling and demolishing the first buildings of the hundreds to be vacated over the coming year, while at the same time relocating IDF training bases to the training compound under construction in the Negev.
Compound 4 is the first of six compounds that the Ministry of Defense will vacate by the end of the decade. 60,000 sq.m. of built up space will be demolished and 427 dunam (106.75 acres) vacated in the coming year, enabling Israel Land Authority (ILA) to begin marketing the land as a new residential neighborhood. Once the vacating and demolishing process is completed, the materials will be pulverized and recycled because of environmental considerations, while infrastructure that can be preserved or recycled will be moved to other bases.
As part of the Shoham 3 plan, vacating the Tzrifin camp will create over 60,000 housing units in central Israel and hundreds of thousands of sq.m. of business and commercial space. Vacating the camp, one of the largest and most complex logistics projects undertaken by the Ministry of Defense in recent years, will generate a great deal of momentum for outlying areas and the Negev. The site currently contains office buildings, soldiers' residences, kitchens, garages, workshops, metal shops, and a number of buildings with historic value for preservation, which will be mapped and included in the civilian design.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 24, 2015
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015