'US to supervise construction of $100m. IDF complex'

'Washington Post' reports the 5-story underground facility will include hangers for fighter jets, command, training centers.

The Jerusalem Post - November 28, 2012


The US will supervise construction of a $100 million, five-story underground facility for an IDF complex named "Site 911," The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The Tel Aviv facility is expected to take more than two years to build, and proposals from construction firms are due on December 3, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for supervising the project. The site will include classrooms on Level 1, and auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security, according to the Post.

Construction at the site will require high-level security access, with workers only being allowed to originate in a pre-ordained list of countries, and with the caveat that "the employment of Palestinians is forbidden," according to a notice by the Corps.

Site 911 will not be the first of its kind in Israel supervised by the Corps. The Washington Post cited the Corps publications as saying they had built "underground hangars for Israeli fighter-bombers, facilities for handling nuclear weapons (though Israel does not admit having such weapons), command centers, training bases, intelligence facilities and simulators."

According to the Post, the site will be one of the largest projects supervised by the US Corps in Israel, with each of the first three underground floors reaching around 41,000 square feet.

The Post also indicated that the Corps is also seeking a contractor for another secret project in Israel, reportedly also worth around $100 million.

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