Ben-Eliezer to present nuclear power plant plan

Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer confirmed Tuesday that in the next few months he would submit to the government a plan to build a nuclear power plant in Shivta, in the Negev. In a speech he delivered to the Israel Electric Company's (IEC) Engineers Union, Ben-Eliezer said that the plan was being coordinated with the Prime Minister's Office and the Atomic Energy Association. The infrastructures minister claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert supported the plan. Israel has in the past been reluctant to set up such a power plant since it requires international inspectors.