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During 56 years of its existence Israel has made impressive progress in development of its infrastructure, even in comparison to the United States and Europe. The following is a sampling of Israel’s biggest infrastructure projects.

The coal power plant in Hadera
The Israel Electric Company has become one of the most significant players in the Israeli economy. When the need arose for a new power plant in the mid-70s, decision-makers disagreed whether to power it with diesel, as was done in the past, or with coal, a relatively new technology at the time. In the end, the company decided not to rely exclusively on oil, and build a large coal power plant in Hadera.
The investment in the country’s then largest energy project topped $1 billion. Thousands of employees were employed at the site. In hindsight, the decision was one of the best ever made by the Israeli government, saving the country a fortune. The success led the construction of a second coal power plant in Ashkelon. Today, coal-powered plants produce 70% of Israel’s electricity.

The natural gas project
For many years, Israel was forced to import raw materials and fuels from abroad, as all attempts to find oil or gas failed. In 2000, a large repository of natural gas was discovered near the shores of Ashkelon and Gaza. The quantity is estimated to suffice the Israeli economy for at least 20 years. The site near Ashkelon was discovered by the Delek Group, while the site near Gaza by British Gas.
In February 2004, the natural gas began to flow to the power plant in Ashkelon. All plant units were converted from fuel oil to natural gas. Today, 10% of Israel’s electricity is produced using natural gas.
By the middle of 2005, the Israel Electric Company is planning to convert the Reading power plant in Tel-Aviv to natural gas as well. The company is currently investing $1.5 billion in the construction of eight additional natural gas power plants. By 2010, the Israel Electric Company is planning to produce 60% of the country’s electricity using natural gas.
The Israeli government is currently advancing the creation of a gas pipeline, which will deliver the gas to large-scale end user, power plants, and manufacturing facilities. So far, the pipeline has reached Ashdod.

Netivei Ayalon highway
Tel-Aviv has become “a city without an end”. One of the chief elements in the city’s transformation was the construction in the 1970s of the Netivei Ayalon highway, which crosses the metropolis and connects it to the neighboring cities. The highway was built along the banks of
the Ayalon River, which until then was considered the slums of Tel-Aviv. The first section was opened in 1982 and the highway was completed in 1991. The construction cost billions of dollars, but was well worth it. Office buildings, residential complexes, and shopping malls are replacing the industrial areas along the highway. The area has the fastest development rate in Gush Dan.

Ashkelon desalination plant
Since its first day, Israel has suffered from water crises. Two years ago, the government finally decided to establish several desalination plants, capable of providing the country with some 400 million cubic meters of water per year. Israeli companies which have been selling the desalination technology around the world, jumped at the opportunity. Several projects are under way in Ashdod, Palmachim (near Rishon Lezion), Hadera, and Haifa, but the largest plant is constructed in Ashkelon.
Starting in 2005, the Ashkelon facility built by the VID group will provide 100 million cubic meters of water a year (enough for a medium-sized city such as Ashdod). If no limits are imposed on companies, three to four additional facilities will be constructed over the next few years.

Israel Railways
In recent years the Israeli government came to the realization that the best way to solve the traffic jams plaguing the country is by developing the railway system and not by building new roads. Since 1996, the railway budgets have been doubled each year, leading to the construction of new railway lines, such as the one between Tel-Aviv and Bet Shemesh and the growth in the number of railway passengers to 20 million in 2003.
Last year, the economic cabinet approved an ambitious, NIS 20 billion railway development project, to be completed by 2008. The plan is to transform the country’s transportation system, by connecting every town with over 50 thousand residents to the railway by the end of the decade. Scheduled for the next few years are the lines between Tel-Aviv and the Ben Gurion Airport (June 2004), Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem (via Bet Shemesh – December 2004), Tel Aviv – Ashkelon (via Ashdod – middle of 2005), and Tel Aviv - Modiin (January 2006).

Cross-Israel Highway (Route 6)
Regardless of the disagreement over the benefit of a toll-highway to the economy, the construction of the Cross-Israel highway is one of the major traffic projects in recent years. The central 90-kilometer section between Gedera and Hadera was constructed in only four years. The Derech Eretz group (Africa-Israel Investments Ltd., Housing & Construction Holding Co. Ltd., and Canadian Highways Infrastructure Corporation) invested $1.3 billion in the highway. Until now, some 800,000 cars, 40% of all the cars in Israel, have traveled on the highway.
Israeli environmentalist groups bitterly opposed the construction. Still, the government is planning to extend the road north to Yokneam (via Haifa) and south to Beer Sheva.

The ports
97% of Israel’s trade passes through the ports, mainly those in Haifa and Ashdod. Expectations of rising demand in the coming years and Israel’s strategic location have led the Port Authority to devise a $4 billion plan for doubling the ports’ output. The works for expanding the old Ashdod port started in 2000. At the beginning of April the first ship entered the new port and unloaded its cargo there. Now the Port Authority is entering the second stage - the expansion of the Haifa port (to be called Carmel Port) at the cost of $1 billion. In addition, the Port Authority is planning to create shopping and entertainment centers in each one of the ports.

Ben Gurion 2000
The new Ben Gurion 2000 terminal at the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel-Aviv is scheduled to open on June 15, 2004, after a “slight” delay of six years. In 1994, the Rabin cabinet approved the creation of a new terminal, capable of serving 16 million passengers a year. At the time, Israel signed new aviation agreements with several countries, among them Jordan, leading to a 40% increase in traffic at Ben Gurion.

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem trams
The $2 billion tramline in Tel Aviv and the $500 million system in Jerusalem will be the country’s most significant infrastructural projects in the coming years. Private companies and government grants will finance the projects.
The progress on the Jerusalem system is faster than that in Tel-Aviv. The government has already chosen the concessionaire who will create the first tramline in Jerusalem, to be completed by 2007.
In Tel Aviv, the picture is more complex. The concessionaire will be chosen in 2005 and the opening is scheduled for 2010. The tram will serve some 100 million passengers a year in five cities: Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Bat Yam, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan, and Bnei Brak.

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