General Electric subsidiary Alstom and China contracting giant Sinohydro Corp. have signed an agreement in principle to build, operate and maintain what would be Israel’s largest pumped-storage project, a 340-MW facility to be built in northern Israel. Valued at about $400 million, the project will be jointly owned by Israel Hutchison Water, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, and Israeli environmental infrastructure firm Tahal Group International. Under the agreement, still awaiting bank approval, the firms will operate and maintain the project for 18 years. The project involves construction of two reservoirs, to be connected by a tunnel through which 2.5 million cu meters of water would flow for an eight- to 10-hour period daily, providing a backup for the national power grid.