The financing is from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi.
Sorek Desalination Ltd, a joint venture between IDE Technologies (51%) and Hutchison Water International Holdings Pte Ltd (49%), recently won the contract to build and operate the Sorek desalination plant.
The 150 million m3/year Sorek Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) facility will be constructed under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model and will be the largest plant of its kind in the world.
The plant, which will be completed in 2013, will deploy advanced membrane desalination technology, including the use of 16 inch membranes for the first time in a large-scale facility.