A story yesterday in Business Week, A Mideast Valley of Peace discussed how the development of a $3 billion canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea is gaining some traction. There is both Arab and Israeli support for the idea which would bring industry, tourism, and most importantly water through desalination plants to a very thirsty location.
According to the report the ambitious project is being energized by 60-year-old billionaire Itzhak Tshuva, who was born into a poor family of 11 who crammed into a single room after immigrating to Israel from Libya in the 1940s. He went on to build a global real estate empire that includes New York's Plaza Hotel, as well as a recently announced $8 billion luxury hotel, retail, residential, and casino complex on the Las Vegas Strip.
Equally important, the project is getting a warm reception in parts of the Arab world. This so-called Valley of Peace is part of a 520-kilometer (323-mile) corridor being proposed by Israeli President Shimon Peres for regional economic development. Peres says he has received letters of support from both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II. And according to Israeli press reports, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal -- known for his investments in Western icons such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) -- recently told Tshuva that he will support the project through Jordan.
Nothing is mentioned about Hamas in the story, but the scope and scale of the project would offer economic opportunity and even prosperity to those that have found it hard to come by, so promoters while not naive, are hopeful.
Among the Israeli industrialists who support the project is Stef Wertheimer, founder of Iscar Metalworking, which sold 80% of its shares to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A).
Since a major purpose of the project involves water and power I could envision companies like General Electric (NYSE: GE) and privately held Bechtel becoming involved.
It is envisioned that the project would be "green" and in that vein, environmental studies are under way to determine the repercussions of mixing water from the two sources and other issues. Currently the potash industry, which generates billions of dollars of revenue for Israel and Jordan at the Dead Sea, is also a factor receiving attention.
Nothing seems to move very fast when so many parties are involved. However, Perez said that the project could be built in as little as two years once it was agreed to do it.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of BRK.B.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-29-2008 @ 4:36PM
william lindblad said...
GE is one of the leaders in reverse osmosis.