Archive photo
Photo: Hanan Greenberg
National Command bunker being built
New government bunker designed to withstand nuclear attack will house Prime Minister's Office, military commands centers. Project to be completed by 2011
Construction on the new National Command Center, where the country's leaders would be rushed to, should Israel suffer a nuclear attack, is rapidly progressing, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
The $240 million underground bunker is designed to withstand a nuclear bomb and will house the Prime Minister's Office, military commands centers and the necessary civil authorities.
"It's like something out of a movie… you walk around it in complete awe, knowing this is the place they'll be running the country from" a government source told Ynet.
The bunker was carved into one of the Jerusalem's mountains. A guarded tunnel – designed to allow two trucks to ride side by side – leads into the mountain, giving a peek into would-be engine rooms and air- conditioning system centers on the way.
At an undisclosed depth lays a series of halls, dozens of feet high, where the official offices, quarters and emergency exits will be built.
Four of the world's leading construction companies have come together to build the bunker. All those involved in the project, including the construction crews, are Jewish and have been subjected to rigorous security screening procedures.
The underground complex will eventually be connected to the new Prime Minister's Office currently being built.
Israel's environmental organizations have already begun protesting the facility's effects on the natural reserve under which it is being built, but no organization has been allowed to inspect the construction site, or its plans, for security reasons.
The National Command Center is expected to be completed in 2011.
