The Israel Ports Company published today (Thursday) a new tender for the management, operation and maintenance of the silo in Haifa Port, which covers an area of about 25 dunams in the western part of Haifa Port. The silo was previously operated by the Dagon company since its establishment, and for a short period, starting in 2021, by Gadot who won the tender that was published in 2020.
During the month of last September, the Administrative Affairs Court in Tel Aviv rejected petitions submitted against the publication of the tender and in accordance with Hani’s announcements regarding the rapid advancement of the tender procedures, today, as mentioned, the tender documents were published.
As part of the tender, the Israel Ports Company asks the participants to offer the price per ton that the operator will pay it for unloading each ton of grain at the silo dock. The winner of the tender, who will be required to obtain a letter of authorization from the Ministers of Transport and Finance, will receive permission to operate the silo for a period of approximately 6 years, with Hani retaining the right to extend this period for additional periods of up to 4 years, for a total of 10 years.
The silo in the port of Haifa, which is the central and main gateway to Israel for grains, annually receives more than 3 million tons of wheat, corn, soy, barley, safflower and more, which are unloaded from the ships at a designated dock in the port, transferred to temporary storage in the silo structure through a system Conveyors and delivered to the carriers in accordance with the importers’ instructions. In the last two years there has been an increase in the amount of grain to record levels, and in 2021 the amount even increased to over 3.82 million tons.
The silo in Haifa is an integral part of the grain import reception system, which also includes the Ashdod silo. The State of Israel currently imports about 4.5 million tons of grains per year, which include edible wheat, oil beans and a lot of fodder for animals. Most of the grain arriving in the State of Israel is unloaded from the Haifa silos today, and a few of them are unloaded at the Ashdod Port Company. As you know, Hani is preparing soon to finish the construction of a nuclear conveyor from the water line to the port silo in Ashdod, with an investment of about NIS 240 million. The operation of this conveyor belt is expected to result in a significant improvement in the level of service at Ashdod Port and a diversion of a significant portion of grain imports from Haifa Port to Ashdod Port.
CEO of Israel Ports Company, Yitzhak Blumenthal: “The new tender for the operation of the silo in Haifa Port, together with the upcoming launch of the new nuclear conveyor belt in Ashdod, constitute important steps by Israel Ports Company to expand competitiveness and provide efficient and excellent service to importers.”