This is an ongoing project that deals with long-term planning on developing national infrastructures. Planning long-term infrastructure is of great importance for Israel for at least three reasons: the limited physical dimensions of the country; the continued relatively rapid demographic growth; and the long time required for planning and execution of infrastructure projects. Among the main goals of the research is to keep options open in the long-term, remove barriers that would prevent the construction of strategic facilities and networks, and a coordinated and optimized use of the limited areas of the country.
The project focuses on assessing the future demand for physical infrastructures in Israel and the ability to establish the appropriate infrastructure and sustainable systems that will meet the expected demand. Another highlight of the project is examining the interactions between the various infrastructure components, and between them and the relevant economic, social, and environmental systems. The objective of the work is to define where and when infrastructure systems become barriers to economic growth and how to avoid these barriers, and is also to assess how infrastructure systems can support and encourage growth. The project is concentrated mainly on the infrastructure areas of land transport, i.e., roads and rail, and the port system, - as well as developing and training the required workforce in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
Strategic planning of infrastructure development is essential both because of the long periods of time involved in the planning, the process of obtaining approvals, financing implementation, and because of the need to identify and maintain options for further development in the long term. However, in order to ensure the achievement of long-term objectives, key elements have to be derived from the recommendations that must already be applied in the immediate and longer term.
During the year, due to the engagement in shorter-term infrastructure issues, mainly in the area of shipping and ports, the activity in the field of long-term strategic thinking was reduced.
