The world's highest fence against anti-tank missiles, closed-circuit cameras and radar equipment affixed to 64-meters (210 feet) poles and a 34-kilometer (21-mile) security fence: This is just part of the defensive infrastructure that will make the Ramon International Airport safe.
Expected to open in March 2019, the airport is in the final stages of construction in the Timna Valley in southern Israel, near the resort city of Eilat.
Ramon airport is named after the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who perished in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, and his son Assaf Ramon, who died six years later when his F-16 fighter jet crashed in a training accident.
The 34 kilometer-long fence stands 6 meters (20 feet) tall, surpassing the 5-meter (16 feet) tall security fence along the Egyptian border. It comes at a cost of NIS 288 million ($80 million).
Additionally, due to concerns that terrorists would seek to target parked airplanes with sophisticated anti-tank missiles, a second 26-meter (85 feet) tall fence was built along a 4.5 kilometer (2.8 mile) stretch. It consists of 186 pillars, 3 million screws and around 6,500 tons of steel.
"This is the highest anti-tank missile wall in the world," said one individual involved in the project.
The total cost of the new airport is estimated to be around NIS 1.7 billion ($436.5 million). Construction began in 2013.
Last February, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz instructed the Israel Airports Authority to work on some 70 airline routes to fly in and out of the new airport.
The airport will be able to handle around 2 million passengers annually and the runway will be 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) long.
As part of the construction project, the portion of the Arava Highway between Eilat and Timna has been widened to four lanes, two in each direction. The journey from the city center to the airport will take 10 minutes.
In the future, the airport will also be connected to the city by rail.
