Amot Investments has invested in 40.5 dunams in Beit Shemesh for the purpose of initiating and establishing logistics centers as the city continues to grow fast.
The land is located at the entrance to the Lavi industrial zone next to the new interchange, which leads to Road 38, the main route that connects Beit Shemesh with Highway 1, the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway, Amot said Monday in a press release.
Amot acquired 60% of the land for NIS 53.5 million from YDA Manivim, which retains 40% of the rights in the complex.
The parties intend to jointly establish a two-story logistics center, with a total built-up area of approximately 50,000 square meters.
Beit Shemesh, once a backwater, is located near the main cities in Israel and has doubled in size over the past decade. About 140,000 people live there, and it is expected to add another 100,000 residents within the next five years.
Alongside the rapidly expanding residential part of the city, industrial areas are also springing up after many years of planning. In the Lavi industrial zone, near the old Beit Shemesh jet engines plant, dozens of new dunams have been marketed for industry and logistics over the past year.
The growth trend in industry and employment in the city, which has a very large haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population, has recently been further strengthened. Beit Shemesh became a Development Area A in the Capital Investment Encouragement Law, which affords tax benefits and grants to enterprises within the city.
Additional tenders by the Israel Lands Authority, which will be published soon, will market tens of thousands of square meters of space for industry, logistics and employment.
“The transformation of Beit Shemesh into Development Area A continues to yield results,” Beit Shemesh Mayor Aliza Bloch was quoted as saying in the press release. “I am pleased that Amot has joined the development of the city. I am sure they will find a warm home here, and I have no doubt that more companies will join us in the near future.”
Amot CEO Shimon Aboudrahm said: “The current transaction was carried out after an in-depth market survey and in light of keen demand for logistics areas in the Beit Shemesh area. This is our first deal in the city, and we are convinced it will not be the last.”