National Plan TAMA/13/B/2/1-A is the detailed plan dealing with the construction of a new container terminal and the extension of the breakwater at Ashdod Port. This plan includes instructions as well as a review of its impact on the environment. The construction of the terminal will be the continuation of the development of Ashdod Port and another phase in the long term master plan of the development of Israel’s ports.

The original Ashdod port was built in the years 1962-1965 as a second modern deep-water port to the old Haifa port, which was intended to serve the center and south of the country. The constant increase in transported cargo, in the number and size of ships visiting the port and in the equipment and technology of cargo handling, required a constant expansion of the port and the construction of its docks to modern standards. In the years 2000-2004, the port was significantly expanded. In light of the cargo forecasts of the State of Israel, the establishment of an additional and innovative container terminal is required.

This review examines the program in two main aspects:

1. The engineering construction plan of the terminal.
2. The mutual effects between the terminal and its surroundings, near and far.

The survey responds to instructions on many and varied topics and these are: the need for construction, development alternatives, sustainable planning and development, purposes and uses, engineering description of the construction, geology and availability of construction materials, natural values, archeology, sea water quality, wave regime, sedimentation, air quality, Noise and transportation in the existing state and during construction, recycled construction materials, a monitoring control mechanism and a “coastal sand resource management mechanism”.

Appropriate instructions arising from the findings of the review are submitted as a proposal for the program’s instructions.