Tel Aviv—Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry is looking for an interim solution to shut down the ammonia storage plant in Haifa. The ministry said that it is considering two options: transferring the ammonia to a ship eight kilometers off the Mediterranean Coast of Haifa, or using special tanker trucks that would deliver the ammonia directly to customers throughout Israel. A decision on a temporary solution until a proposed ammonia plant is built in southern Israel is expected to be taken within three to four weeks. The ministry said that the aim is to shut down the existing storage facility, which is located near populated areas in Haifa and is viewed as a security risk. There is also concern that the setting up of an ammonia plant would be uneconomical due to the high price of domestic natural gas. Israel’s Energy and Water and Finance Ministries are looking into various ways of subsidizing the price. Senior Environmental Protection Ministry sources said that the ministry will do everything in its power to find a short- and long-term solution to meet domestic ammonia demand. Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Ministry decided to postpone the deadline for the new ammonia plant in southern Israel until mid-May. The ministry set May 16 as the final day for bids to be presented. The initial deadline had been set for the end of March.
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