In May 2020, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel had chosen IDE Technologies to build the Sorek 2 seawater desalination plant. Three groups competed, among them an Israeli unit of the Hong Kong group Hutchison. Bidding together with Bank Leumi, IDE offered water at roughly NIS 1.45 per cubic metre. The plant near Palmahim was to supply 200 million m³ annually, cost upwards of NIS 5 billion and be finished in 2023. Funding included KfW and a 150 million euro European Investment Bank loan.
The report showed that major desalination projects were also watched through a foreign policy lens in 2020; the paper linked the award to American concerns about Chinese involvement in infrastructure.
Source: The Jerusalem Post