C'tee proposes spending up to $70m on PM's plane

The Goldberg Committee also proposes a new prime minister's residence and office.

The Goldberg Committee, which is examining procurement of a plane for the president and prime minister, recommends a maximum budget of $70 million. The public committee, chaired by former president of the Supreme Court and State Comptroller Judge Emeritus Eliezer Goldberg, says that this budget is enough to buy a used Boeing 767, which can be customized with the necessary electronic and defense systems.

"The current situation cannot continue, and should be rectified immediately," says the committee in its report, which was submitted on Wednesday.

The Goldberg Committee recommends buying a plane for use by the president and prime minister on official trips, per the norm in many countries. The committee focused on two serious flaws in the current system of renting a plane, usually from El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL), as needed: it is not possible to maintain regular communications with Israel on long flights, causing prolonged disconnect and lack of defensive systems, which prevents the prime minister and president from flying to certain countries.

The Goldberg Committee also examined the need for upgrades of the prime minister's official residence and office. It says that there is a major shortfall between what exists and what is essential, and recommends building a new residence and office that will fully meet the security and jobs needs in both routine times and emergencies. It advises building either a single compound or two adjacent buildings, in which the prime minister's residence does not exceed 10% of the total space.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 24, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

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