Eshkol Reports on Outlook for Foreign Firms to Build Pipeline

Israel will know within a month whether foreign companies interested in building a greatly expanded oil pipeline from Elath to Haifa will come in on the deal, Levi EshKol, Finance Minister, told a press conference here.

Mr. Eshkol, who said that several different plans for the construction of such a line were under consideration noted that foreign capital would be needed. He revealed that France was willing to aid Israel in building a 16-inch line to replace the newly constructed eight-inch tube which now runs only from Elath to Beersheba, France was also willing to discuss the construction of a 32-inch line, he reported.

The Israel Government, the Finance Minister declared, favored a 32-inch line which would cost $40,000, 000, only $10,000, 000 more than a 16-inch line but capable of carrying four times as much oil, A 32-inch line could annually transport 5, 000, 000 tons of crude oil to Haifa from Elath This, he pointed out, was four times Israel’s current needs and twice what Israel is expected to be using within five years. Mr. Eshkol estimated that the cost of the big line would be repaid within two years after it went into use.

The pipe would be manufactured in Israel, Mr. Eshkol said, regardless of whether it was the 16- inch or 32-inch size. The Finance Minister disclosed that the government and the Jewish Agency were planning to establish a series of new settlements astride the trans-Negev road, which will parallel any new pipeline from the south. The asphalt topped road is expected to be completed by June. Any Arab interference, specifically by Saudi Arabia, with Israel expansion plans in the south, Mr. Eshkol indicated, would be met with most vigorous action.