Jerusalem Municipality presents record NIS 11.2 billion budget

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday morning that he had ordered a special project for the development of Jerusalem worth NIS 200 million

Israel's most populous city, Jerusalem, May 13, 2020 (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
Israel's most populous city, Jerusalem, May 13, 2020
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
The Jerusalem Municipality is set to discuss a record NIS 11.2 billion budget for the municipality for 2020, including NIS 4.4 billion set for infrastructure development. In comparison, the 2019 overall budget stood at NIS 9.6 billion.
Some 49% of the proposed budget will be set aside for education, welfare and community, while 14% of the budget will be set aside for cleaning and aesthetic improvements in the city.
"The budget that we are presenting today to the finance committee and then to the city council, is a record budget that will allow the actualization of the strategy I proposed," said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. "In a fruitful dialogue with Interior Minister [Arye] Deri and Finance Minister [Israel] Katz, we succeeded in formulating a very substantial budget for the capital, fitting for Jerusalem, one that addresses the unique needs of the city and allows the building and development of Jerusalem."
The announcement of the new budget came with plans for the city for 2020, including new projects in the education, community, culture and transport sectors.
The plan includes the following measures, among other projects:
 
>Building new schools, leadership programs and schools for parents
>Connecting Arab students to the academic world, enrichment programs for students and a variety of programs to increase awareness of violence and discourse on values
>A new pedagogical innovation center for the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector
>More programs for elderly residents
>Programs to prevent domestic violence
>Improvements to parks, roads and squares
>The building of three new swimming pools
>New festivals and events, as well as traditional events such as the Jerusalem Marathon
>A new directorate for haredi tourism
>Continued work on extending the light rail system
>New tunnels and a bus lane on Route 60
>New tunnels below the French Hill neighborhood between Coca Cola Junction, Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Ze'ev
>The entry of two new companies to the public transport market in the city alongside Egged
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday morning that he had ordered a special project for the development of Jerusalem worth NIS 200 million. "This is important to us, even during the coronavirus," he tweeted.