The request of the Haifa Ports Authority to have all 20 of the cranes it ordered built outside of Israel has been denied by Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai.
By MATTHEW KRIEGER
The request of the Haifa Ports Authority to have all 20 of the cranes it ordered built outside of Israel has been denied by Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai.
Under Israeli government law, any contract tendered by a government-owned company, such as the Haifa port, must have at least 28% of the production done by Israeli manufacturers. The Haifa port claimed that because it is a new government-owned company, the law should not apply.
The port wanted all of the crane production, worth an estimated $120 million, to be completed outside of Israel, as production costs outside the country are significantly lower.