Israel Plans to Develop New Airport on Artificial Island

Dredging Environmental & Marine Engineering NV (DEME) and Jan de Nul Group have dispatched representatives to Israel in recent weeks to discuss a project to develop an airport offshore in the Mediterranean, Bloomberg reports. 

According to Avi Simhon, head of the National Economic Council in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the dredging giants have sent their senior employees to discuss the project which could cost about $10 billion and take 10-15 years to build.

Israel’s fast-growing economy is limited by a scarcity of land for infrastructure, especially in the center of the country. They only have one major airport serving a booming tourism industry and a population eager to travel abroad.

Earlier this year, Israel formed a committee, headed by Simhon, to look into moving infrastructure projects or building new facilities on artificial islands, Bloomberg informs.

“These plans have been under consideration for many years here, and now it’s a matter of finally moving things forward. We can’t sit around and do nothing while Ben-Gurion Airport reaches overcapacity,” concluded Simhon.

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