The Israel Lands Authority and the Tourism Ministry have announced that the El-Ad Group won the tender for the construction of two hotels in Ein Bokek, a resort on the Israeli shore of the Dead Sea, near Neve Zohar, in the Tamar Regional Council. The hotels will feature about 360 guestrooms.
The tourism development project in the Dead Sea area is gaining momentum, as the Tourism Ministry and the Israel Land Authority on Wednesday announced that El-Ad Group has been awarded a lease on two lots for 49 years with an option to extend for another 49 years. The winner will pay for each plot $653,125 for the land, plus development costs of $1,841,730 to be transferred to the development program, which will be managed by the Dead Sea Preservation Government Company, the executive arm of the Tourism Ministry.
The two plots (one of 6 acres, the other 5) are adjacent to the Isrotel Dead Sea Hotel. Each plot will include about 180 rooms. As part of the tender, 30% of the units can be used for special hotel accommodations. The tender was aimed only at entrepreneurs who had received the Tourism Ministry’s recommendation. The tender included unique conditions, such as a fixed land price known in advance, with competition in the bid limited to development costs.
Both plots are part of an approved plan that includes a commercial center and a regional convention center.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a statement: “We are continuing the tourism revolution in the Dead Sea and leveraging it as an attractive and modern tourist destination. Given the significant increase in the number of tourists arriving in Israel, I welcome the start of the process of building hundreds of new rooms at the Dead Sea, for the first time in years. Together with the promenade that has already been opened, we will see new commercial and entertainment areas opening, and an increase in the number of hotel rooms that will contribute to employment and the economy in the region.”
Israel Land Authority South Business Area Director Eran Reuveni, said in a statement: “This tender is the first in the Dead Sea area after nearly 20 years. This is a special tender, first of its kind for hotels, according to which the price of the land is minimal and fixed, and the competition is for the development costs, while the State, via the Dead Sea Preservation Government Company, is subsidizing a significant amount of these expenses.”
Dead Sea Preservation Government Company CEO Shimon (Shimi) Daniel said in a statement: “This is a formative event that creates change in the region. Having completed infrastructure work and after the significant investments we have made in the region in recent years, we are facing the first stage of expansion of the hotel complex. Together with the Israel Land Authority, we have selected the winner to construct the first hotel complex to be built in the area in the past 30 years. We believe that this, together with the massive development in the area, will generate great interest from international investors and entrepreneurs who believe in this unique area.”