Israel has called for pre-qualification bids for planning, financing, constructing, and operating a new large scale desalination plant at Sorek.
The project is reportedly for a 150 million m3/y plant, increasing production of desalinated water in Israel by 25 per cent. Statements of qualification are due by 3 September 2018, and a request for proposals will follow.
A second project for a new desalination plant, located in Western Galilee and with capacity of 274,000 m3/d, is expected to kick off in 2019.
The new plants form a part of a wider strategy drawn up by Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources, Yuval Steinitz, in response to Israel’s ongoing five-year drought. The plan sets a target of 1 billion cubes a year of desalinated water in Israel by 2030 — almost double the current volume.
Israel already has five desalination plants, in Ashkelon, Sorek, Hadera, Palmachim, and Ashdod, supplying 585 million cubes a year, or 70 per cent of water in Israel.