The Israeli government has signed two franchise agreements with Via Maris Desalination and Carmel Desalination. The Build Operate Own Operate (BOO) contracts call for the desalination of 30 million cubic meters of water annually.
Israel finalized a water agreement with its strategic alley Turkey in August. Under the terms of the 20-year water contract, Israel will import 50 million cubic meters of water per annum, enough to satisfy about 2.5 percent of Israel's annual consumption of potable water.
Although the price of water desalination is lower than that of importing the natural resource from Turkey, Israel closed the deal with Ankara after it tied the negotiated water deal to a big arms purchase, providing for the sale of Israeli-made tanks and air force technology.
The price of imported water from Turkey is estimated to reach $0.75-0.80 per cubic meter, over the contract’s full 20-year term. The desalination of seawater is expected to cost $0.54 per cubic meter.
The Via Maris Group will establish a plant in the Palmahim area and the Carmel Desalination group will construct a plant in the Haifa Bay area. The new factories will join the first desalination plant which is in the process of being established in cooperation with VID Desalination Company in Ashkelon. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
