Israel's first commercial greenfield airport since its independence in 1948 is sited in the Arava Desert, 18 kilometers north of the resort of Eilat, to replace an existing facility that doesn't handle jumbo jets or international traffic.
The Israel Airports Authority will prequalify international construction teams late this month for the $450-million turnkey project in Timna. The actual tender is set to be issued early next year, says the agency. The airport is to be named after Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who died in the 2003 Columbia space-shuttle crash, and his son, Asaf, who was killed in an Israel Air Force training accident. After years of delay, the project got the final go-ahead in late 2011.