Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry has given a timetable for the proposed new ammonia plant which is to be constructed at Mishor Rotem, in the southern desert between Dimona and the Dead Sea. Speaking at a press conference, EPM director-general Yisrael Danczinger said that the EPC contract is currently out for tender, with bids closing at the end of August and a licensor and engineering, procurement and construction contractor being chosen. Construction is expected to begin in late 2016 or early 2017, and take three years to complete, with an on-stream date projected for 2020. The capacity for the new plant has not been specified, but it is being constructed in order to retire the 17,000 tonne ammonia storage tank at Haifa which is presently used to import ammonia for Israel's chemical and fertilizer industry, the presence of which has been a longstanding bone of contention with Haifa residents, especially when Hezbollah secretary general Hasan Nasrallah threatened recently to target the tank with rockets and poison the city of Haifa. Israel's demand for ammonia is around 120,000 t/a, and the new ammonia plant is likely to be of around that size.
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