Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir said to lay that Israel is seeking investments totaling at least $1.9 billion for industrial expansion and development in a variety of fields over the next few years. He said the country would seek part of these investments from businessmen from Israel and abroad who will be attending the Third international Economic Conference for Israel which opens Sunday in Jerusalem.
Sapir said Israel wanted about $500 million for investment in the oil and petrochemical industry, not including the oil presently produced by the fields in Sinal. He said another $400 million was required to expand the merchant marine and to alleviate the current shortages of cement and newsprint.
He noted that the largest single investment needed, about $1 billion, was for the construction of conventional power plants to double Israel’s output of electricity over the next eight years. He said a nuclear power plant was being planned for the early 1980s.
Sapir said that Israel is seeking technical and business know-how from abroad. He reported that of the 500 largest American corporations, 45 are already involved in Israeli industry. He said Israel is currently represented on the international trade map by some $6.5 billion and that this figure is growing.
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