Israel's National Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Zeev Bielski, unanimously approved today the plan for construction of a desalination plant in the western Galilee. The facility will be Israel's sixth desalination plant and the first in northern Israel. The Western Galilee has suffered from a prolonged drought, and cannot rely on desalinated water from the other facilities, because this water cannot cross the Carmel mountain range. The new facility will be located between Road 4 and the railway track near the Mediterranean coast.
The new desalination plant will be built in two stages, with 100 million cubic meters of water being produced in each stage, making the new facility the largest in Israel and one of the largest of its kind in the world.
Promotion of the project by the Israel Water Authority began over a decade ago. Despite its importance, however, it encountered many obstacles. The Water Authority proposed the plant to the National Infrastructure Committee in 2018, and the plant will now be brought before the housing cabinet for approval.
Bielski who also heads the housing cabinet, said, "Construction of the desalination plant in the western Galilee will facilitate the continued existence of agriculture, development of the region with its rapidly growing population, and the restoration of water to nature. The desalination plant is of national importance because of its ability to bolster Israel's cooperation and strategic relations with its neighbors."
National Infrastructure Committee Nava Alinksy-Radai said that the plant was extremely important for the water sector in the country, especially the western Galilee.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 16, 2019
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