One of the issues which will be brought before the committee is the linking of Eilat port to the Israeli railway network
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz informed last week that a special committee headed by Prof. Yehuda Hayuth, had been set up to study various strategic alternatives the port of Eilat should adopt in order to continue its functioning as a commercial port.
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz made his intentions clear earlier this month when visiting the port of Eilat to study present & future problems facing the port.
Prof. Yehuda Hayuth, head of the Widra Shipping Research Institute and former president of the University of Haifa, is a world authority on shipping and ports. He will be joined by Israel's Director of the Shipping and Ports Administration Arie Rona and Mr. Shlomo Breiman, CEO of Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd. (IPC).
The port of Eilat is Israel's southern gateway to the Far East, South Africa and Australia without having to pass through the Suez Canal, thus avoiding high passage tariffs that increase the cost of shipping.
The Port of Eilat is a modern facility with cranes for handling general cargo and containers and automatic loaders for handling phosphates and potash. It has a 12 meter water depth at the quay, and is able to service panamax ships.
one of the issues which will be brought before the committee is the linking of Eilat port to the Israeli railway network. This was the main issue raised by the port managing director Mr. Moshe Mitz during the visit. Mr. Mitz called upon the Minister to devote the necessary NIS300 million for the planning of the long awaited railway line.
The committee will also discuss the present location of the port, the port's contribution to the development of the city of Eilat and the transportation of hazardous cargo through the port.
Mr. Gideon Siterman, director general of the Minister, expressed his commitment to the port as a strategic port to the Israeli economy and said that the government should take all necessary steps to support the port and turn it into a competitive port.
