Israel to build new desalination plant to meet water shortage By Reuters November 14, 2022 REUTERS/Nir Elias Construction is slated to start in early 2023 and will be completed in 30 months Israel’s IDE Technologies and Bank Hapoalim won a government tender to build a new water desalination plant in northern Israel, Hapoalim said. Hapoalim, one of Israel’s two largest banks, will provide 1.3 billion shekels ($381 million) for the project near the northern city of Nahariya off the Mediterranean coast which aims to help the country contend with future water shortages. Production will be 100 million cubic metres a year and the plant would connect the Western Galilee to Israel’s national water system, Hapoalim said. The region currently relies on water wells that pump water to residents. In years when rainfall is low, the supply and quality of water in the north are poor. When IDE completes the new plant, total water desalination in Israel at seven such facilities will amount to 900 million cubic metres a year covering some 90 percent of domestic and industrial water consumption, Hapoalim noted. Construction is slated to start in early 2023 and last 30 months, with a planned opening in mid-2025. Water will be supplied to the national network for 25 years and revenues are estimated at 180 million shekels.
