IDE’s Western Galilee project to be Israel’s seventh-largest desalination plant, producing 100 million cubic meters of water annually.
The Western Galilee desalination plant, to be named Birkat Miriam, will join Israel’s other large scale desalination plants in operation — Ashkelon, Ashdod, Palmachim, Hadera and Sorek 1 — while IDE also constructs Sorek 2. These desalination plants are part of a government effort to increase the amount of desalinated water in the country’s overall water resources. The water contribution from the Western Galilee plant will bring total production of desalination plants in Israel to almost 900 million cubic meters per year. This water represents 85-90% of household and industrial water consumption.
This new project marks the second time in two years that IDE secured a bid to construct a desalination plant in Israel. In 2020, IDE was awarded the contract to construct Sorek 2 (named: Be’er Miriam), one of the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants in the world. IDE was selected out of a large group of competitors for its advanced technology, competitive pricing and industry-leading reputation in Israel and across the globe.