New chemical industries which will involve investments of 25,000,000 pounds ($14,000,000) annually for the next four years have been started in the Negev, with the aid of overseas investors, it was announced today.
Mordechai Makleff, former Army Chief of Staff, who is general manager of the Dead Sea Works, made the report at a press conference. He also revealed that, by 1966, the value of export production of the 100,000,000-pound ($56,000,000) project was expected to reach 25,000,000 pounds ($14,000,000) annually. Sir Ben Lockspeiser and Dr. George Wise, members of the United Nations Technological Advisory Board, attended the press conference.
The largest part of the investment funds will be used to expand output of potash from the Dead Sea, from which markets in five continents are currently being supplied. The estimated reserves of potash in the Dead Sea were given as 2,000,000,000 tons. The Dead Sea is also the richest source of bromine in the world.
Sir Ben said the importance of bromine to industry was increasing so rapidly that Israel’s exports will not be able to meet the demand. He added that 40 percent of the projected investment funds would come from overseas investors.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
