ICL's salt ponds constitute the southern part of the Dead Sea. Many hotels and tourist attractions were built on these ponds' shores and utilize their production of salt for the local tourism industry. Specifically, one major pond - Pond 5 - "enables the ... livelihoods of thousands of people [who are] dependent on [its] stable water level," according to ICL.
With 20 million tons of salt sinking to the bottom of ICL's salt ponds every year, maintaining a stable water level requires extracting minerals by way of solar evaporation. The project's goal is to harvest and transfer salt from Pond 5, which includes an area of approximately 80 square kilometers, to the northern basin of the Dead Sea.
Maintaining stable water levels in Pond 5 is important, because if water rises above a certain level it may result in structural damage to the foundations of the hotel structures situated close to the water’s edge and to other infrastructure on the western shoreline of Pond 5.
The process of extracting the huge amounts of salt will be carried out by three electric maritime dredgers built especially for the project by the Hollow Shallow Sea Dredging company. Reaching 141 meters in length and 24 meters in width, these machines are among the largest of their kind to ever be built.
The project, expected to reach the cost of NIS 7 billion, will mostly be paid for by ICL, which, according to an agreement signed with the Israeli government in 2012, covers 80% of the project's cost.
"This is a significant project ... that proves that industrial production and sustainable solutions can come together, said Noam Goldstein, president of ICL's Potash Division, referring to the efforts that were made to ensure that the project doesn't harm local tourism. This includes the planning of the unique dredgers, built in a way that will prevent noise interference while working nearby hotels.
"Carrying out this project allows the continued development of tourism in the Dead Sea, alongside industry, creating new job and encouraging people to move to the area," Goldstein added.
Shimi Daniel, CEO of the Dead Sea Preservation Government Company that operates on behalf of the Tourism Ministry, added that "the full cooperation that we've had with the local industry proves that the industrialists understand the strategic importance that the area holds in regard to the country's future."