Eilat has signed a roof agreement with the state. The agreement constitutes implementation of a cabinet decision on promoting residential construction in the town, together with hotel rooms and commercial space.
Under the agreement, signed in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nine new neighborhoods with a total of 18,372 housing units will be built in Eilat. At the same time, construction of 6,930 new hotel rooms and additional industrial zones for the town with 146,000 sq.m. in total space will go forward. The agreement also budgets funds for transportation and other infrastructure, development of the town's coastal strip, an international sports center, municipal parks, and a waste facility.
The agreement states that infrastructure development will be carried out by the municipality through the Eilat Development Corporation. Marketing of the sites will be in cooperation with the local authority. The Israel Land Authority (ILA) will oversee the municipality's supervision. The agreement also stresses urban renewal in the town.
"This agreement will give Eilat an enormous boost, double its population, and enable it to develop and create new industrial zones," Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon said at the signing ceremony. He also commented on buyer fixed price tenders in the town, saying, "The first buyer fixed price lottery in Eilat will start at noon today. Since Eilat is included in the top priority areas, the percentage of local residents in the lottery is 50%. Israel's state-owned land is not a resource to be traded. Land is a resource that should reach young couples, so that they will be able to build a home on it."
Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi commented, "The roof agreement, which was reached after lengthy negotiations, will cause a dramatic turnaround in construction of major infrastructure. In a city like Eilat, bypass roads, parks, beaches, and so forth will put it on the road to economic independence, and turn it into a metropolis. This is big news for Eilat residents."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 7, 2017
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