Plans to evacuate 5 IDF bases, IMI get underway
Treasury to give IDF NIS 1.9 billion to move five bases out of central Israel, making way for 25,000 new housing units. Once IMI ground is decontaminated, it will be sold to developers, who will build 23,000 new housing units
Two large-scale plans to construct some 48,000 housing units go into action this week, a decade behind schedule.
On Monday, Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Treasury representatives met in the Prime Minister's Office to sign off on an evacuation-compensation plan that will move five IDF bases, including Tel Hashomer and the Military Induction Center (Bakum), and erect 25,000 housing units in their place.
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The plan calls for the Treasury to transfer a budget of NIS 1.9 billion to the Defense Ministry to cover the cost of moving five IDF camps over a period of seven years.
Meanwhile, the Israel Lands Authority on Sunday launched the "Kidmat Hasharon" plan to build 23,000 housing units in Herzliya, Ramat Hasharon and Hod Hasharon on the ground that used to host the Israel Military Industries. The program calls for the land – the most polluted in Israel – to be decontaminated at a cost of NIS 2 billion before it is sold to developers.
The Kidmat Hasharon plan encompasses some 1,900 acres, 60% of which are earmarked for public needs (public buildings, train tracks, roads, and intersections) and an unprecedented 40% reserved for green spaces – including a 500-acre park.
The ILA is stressing that although the plan could have included more housing units, only the number required to cover the cost of cleaning up the ground were planned. This decision, the ILA said, was taken in line with Israel's planning principles for the future, which feature a large percentage of public green spaces along with easy access to transportation.
