The announcement ended a long debate over the first privately operated commercial seaport. The $800 million project is slated for completion by 2015.
 
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said last week that Haifa will have the first privately operated commercial seaport in Israel. The announcement ended a long debate over the first privately operated commercial seaport.
 

The $800 million project is slated for completion by 2015.
 

A spokesman for the Transportation ministry in Jerusalem said last week that the decision fell in favor of Haifa, as a means of improving its maritime infrastructure to equal that in Ashdod.
 

Haifa business community expressed satisfaction for the decision