The National Board for Planning and Building, headed by Ministry of the Interior director general Dr. Shuki Amrani, today approved a plan to build a new city for the Arab population in western Galilee, east of Akko.
The plan, jointly initiated by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and Israel Land Authority, involves the construction of housing for 40,000 people on land on Givat Tantur, south of Jadeidi-Makr.
This is the first time since Israel gained independence that planning authorities have approved a plan for a new Arab city. Today's approval by the National Board for Planning and Building comes six years after the government made a decision in the matter: cabinet resolution no. 3810 in July 2008, which stated that an inter-ministerial team would formulate a working plan for consideration of the construction of a new city for the minority population in northern Israel, based on the alternatives presented to it.
Now that the National Board for Planning and Building has approved the plan in the context of National Outline Plan 44 (a plan for new municipal development in northern Israel for the Arab population), the plan will be given to the district committees for comments.
The Ministry of the Interior said today that the new municipal site was designed to provide advanced and diverse housing and services solutions for 40,000, and to strengthen the Arab middle class. The plan is located on mostly state-owned land. The ministry stated, "The proposed plan offers a variety of population densities facilitating community and private development in the high-density construction typical of modern cities, and the creation of an urban center for services, leisure, and commerce for the surrounding rural area."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 4, 2014
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