The National Planning and Building Commission today approved construction of an onshore natural gas terminal by a majority of 13 to 6 and the plans will be submitted for comments and objections.
A representative of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), Itamar Ben-David and local authorities' representative Amir Rituv presented an alternative plan which they claimed was better from the environmental, public and planning points of view, however, the plan only won six votes.
Spokesman for the Hof Carmel Regional Council said, "The decision of the National Planning and Building Commission to continue the process to build an onshore terminal to handle gas is a ringing slap in the face for the hundreds of thousands of residents of Hof Carmel, Megiddo and Emek Hefer. The deliberating ignoring of the option of building an offshore terminal will result in entire towns living in the shadow of the fear of a major disaster. This is a decision taken to support outside interests and contradicts the public interest."
Earlier today, 500 demonstrators protested outside the meeting of the National Planning and Building Commission in Jerusalem against the plan for the onshore gas terminal.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 12, 2013
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