The tender has been issued for Israel’s largest ever desalination plant. The 411,000 m³/d plant will be in the Soreq region south of Tel Aviv close to the Mediterranean.
At the same time, a new tender strategy for the planned 274,000m³/d Ashdod desalination plant was approved by the government, which hands over overall responsibility for the plant to Mekorot, the national water company. The deal gives Mekorot ownership of the facility.
In addition, the government’s desalination tenders committee is looking at increasing capacity at Ashkelon and Palmachim. A decision will be taken when the committee finishes all its procedures in 2-3 weeks time. Four consortia have been approved by the committee for the Soreq plant:
According to Globes Online, for the first time, the tender committee ordered the bidders to submit environmental impact statements, which will comprise part of each bid’s overall score. The bidders must demonstrate the use of recycled materials, energy efficiency, reduced use of chemicals, maximum efficiency in use of land resources, minimum noise and other factors.