Israel Launches Tender for Major Western Galilee Desalination Plant
Israel has launched a pre-qualification tender for a new 100 million cubic meter desalination plant in the Western Galilee, part of a national plan to nearly double the country's water production capacity to 1.5 billion cubic meters annually.
Israel is advancing a major expansion of its desalination infrastructure, aiming to increase national production capacity from approximately 800 million cubic meters per year to about 1.5 billion over the coming decade. As part of this initiative, the special inter-ministerial desalination tender committee at the Accountant General’s Department of the Ministry of Finance published a pre-qualification (PQ) tender for the construction of a new seawater desalination facility in the Western Galilee.
The new plant, with a planned production capacity of about 100 million cubic meters per year, is slated for construction south of Nahariya under National Infrastructure Plan 90 (NIP 90). It will be located adjacent to another Western Galilee desalination plant currently in advanced stages of construction. Once both facilities are completed, the combined production capacity at the site is expected to reach approximately 200 million cubic meters annually.
Expanding National Capacity to 1.5 Billion Cubic Meters
The construction of the facility is part of a broader national blueprint to scale up desalination capabilities over the coming decades. Alongside the two Western Galilee plants, the strategy includes upgrading and expanding the Ashkelon desalination facility and establishing a new plant in Emek Hefer.
With the completion of these priority projects, Israel's total desalination capacity is projected to reach approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters per year by the early to mid-next decade, compared to about 800 million cubic meters today. This expansion addresses rising water demands driven by population growth and climate change, while reducing reliance on natural water sources and ensuring supply continuity during crises.
International Tender and 25-Year PPP Operation
The publication of the pre-qualification documents marks the official launch of the tender process to select a concessionaire that will design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the facility for 25 years under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The committee is led by Gal Lando, head of infrastructure and PPP projects at the Accountant General’s Department, with participation from the Ministry of Finance, the Water Authority, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and Inbal.
Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu emphasized the strategic importance of the initiative: "Israel's water security requires us today to plan and build the infrastructure that will be needed decades from now." Water Authority Director Ezekiel Lipshitz added that diversifying water sources and geographic distribution are vital components for a stable national water balance.
