In 2025, Israel will face a severe shortage of construction aggregates – gravel used to make cement – experts from the Energy Ministry estimated last week, which will have a significant impact on the construction industry. Consequently, the Israeli Civilian Administration has advanced an initiative of cooperation with the Palestinian Authority to double the number of aggregates the PA markets to Israel – a move that coincides with the PA's interest to provide jobs to its people.
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Last week, the ICA, in conjunction with the Border Authority, IDF GOC Central Command and Israel Police, launched a first-of-its-kind pilot program at the Gilboa border crossing in northern Samaria, which will eventually be expanded to all crossings.
The "door-to-door" program will allow Palestinian trucks to carry the gravel from their factories directly to the specific construction site in Israel without the need for a time-consuming security check that involves unloading and reloading the cargo. The move will allow the factories to double, and perhaps more, the number of trucks entering Israel every day.
Only legal and officially accredited quarries will be allowed to partake in the program. According to initial estimates, the aggregates program will inject the PA economy with NIS 280 million ($84,828,175) this year, and in the coming years NIS 375 million ($113,609,160), NIS 515 million ($156,023,250) and NIS 690 million ($209,040,860). In 2025, the spending is expected to reach NIS 1 billion ($302,957,770).
