Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. ("IPC") reported last week that the National Planning and Building Council has given preliminary approval for the construction of a second container port in Ashdod. The IPC noted that the move designed to increase competition in the Israeli port sector.
The new port, HaDarom Port, is estimated to cost NIS 4 billion. It will be run by a private company.
The port will feature one dock 1,100 meters long and another about half that length, letting the port unload some of the largest container ships in the world with capacities reaching TEU18,000, Triple E-class vessels.
The current breakwater to protect the port from waves is to be extended by 600 meters.
The works, for the Hadarom Port project, consist of the following: Construction of a Staging Harbour, construction of breakwaters, construction of quays, dredging works, land reclamation and compaction, area development works.
Outgoing Transportation Minister Israel Katz welcomed Tuesday's decision, saying that 2013 would be the "year of competition" among the ports.
Israel Ports CEO Shlomo Brieman said the industry's giant container ships and Israel's burgeoning foreign trade meant the new Ashdod port was clearly a priority. He expected that Israel would need the new container port by 2018.
