Mr.Gustavo Kronenberg, the director-general of VID Desalination Company Ltd. said last week that the new $250 million desalination plant in Ashkelon began pumping potable water filtered from the Mediterranean Sea.
 
The plant, constructed under the build, operate, transfer (BOT) method, will supply 100 million cubic meters of water a year, roughly 15% of the total household water consumed in Israel - by the end of the 2005.
 
Kronenberg added that the plant could expand production to 120m. cu.m. per year. The desalination complex covers 70,000 square meters, and counts 20 initial filtration pools (in which sea-borne solids are removed from the water), and 40,000 polymer membranes, which the water is pushed through to remove the salts and impurities in a process known as negative osmosis.
 
The plant will initially supply 50 million cubic meters, which will channeled into ground water until the systems is stabilized. The water will be directed into the National Water Carrier at the end of August, which will send it by the national water carrier to southern Israel, the water will improve the purity and quality of Israel's tap water. The second stage of the plant’s operation will begin in December 2005, until supply reaches 100 million cubic meters per year.
 
According to government sources the price of the water will be NIS 2.60 per cubic, meter the world’s lowest price for desalinated water. The project will run as a build-operate-transfer (BOT) deal, by which VID will operate the facility for 25 years before becoming government property.