Interior Ministry okays gas distribution expansion
Silvan Shalom: "This move will not only reduce energy costs, but will help lower the cost of products, which will help lower the cost of living."
By SHARON UDASINUpdated: AUGUST 11, 2015 04:57A man points as he stands on a tanker carrying liquified natural gas, ten miles off the coast from Hadera(photo credit: REUTERS)
Interior Ministry Director General Orna Hozman-Bachor has signed off on several building permits to extend the natural gas distribution network in the south of the country.The nine building permits, approved on Sunday, will enable the transmission of natural gas to more factories in the region, collectively saving them millions of shekels annually, the Interior Ministry said. The new permits will serve the plants of Yehuda Steel, Edeltech, Adama Makhteshim, Carlsberg, Ytong, Packer Plada, Intel, Terra and others, according to the ministry.“The connection of plants in the South will bring significant savings of tens of thousands of shekels a day,” Hozman-Bachor said. “These savings will foster employment and economic development in the south.”Interior Minister Silvan Shalom said that the decision will have a positive impact for consumers, saying that savings on natural gas will lead to a significant reduction in the costs of goods and services produced by these industries.“This move will not only reduce energy costs, but will help lower the cost of products, which will help lower the cost of living,” Shalom said.A day after the Interior Ministry approved the gas network building permits, the Natural Gas Authority (housed within the National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Ministry) approved an increase in transmission capacity between the Ashdod and Sorek regions in the south.The Natural Gas Authority authorized the construction of a new, 22 km. transmission pipeline by Israel Natural Gas Lines, which will expand the current capacity of the area by more than 100 percent, the government authority said. The project will cost about NIS 158 million
