The two American-financed airfields now building in the Negev to replace those Israel will give up in Sinai, will be completed and operational by April, 1982, Israeli military co respondents were informed today. Heavy equipment is evident all over the area and the outlines of the airstrips are already visible.
Brig. Gen. Paul Hartung of the U.S. Army Engineers Corps., who is in charge of construction of the two airfields and Col, Dick Curl, chief engineer for the Ovda airfield, told the correspondents that the work would be completed on schedule and within the cost limits. There are presently 1200 workers, mainly foreigners, employed at the Ovda base, an hour’s drive from Eilat. Their number is expected to reach a peak of about 2200. The estimated cost for one day’s labor is $250,000.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
