KKL to Invest NIS 100 Million in Haifa’s Kishon Park, Expanding It 30-Fold
The Jewish National Fund (KKL) will invest NIS 100 million in the development of the Kishon River Park, a project that will turn the river mouth in Haifa into a metropolitan park covering 950 dunams, nearly 30 times its current size. The fund’s board approved the decision at a meeting held on Tuesday.
According to the decision, the sum will be invested over five years. If the fund takes ownership of the educational center that will be built in the park, it will invest an additional NIS 50 million in the project, which will be carried out by the Kishon River Authority. KKL Chairman Eyal Ostersinsky had previously committed to investing another NIS 100 million in environmental projects in local authorities in the Haifa Bay area, so the fund is expected to invest a total of about a quarter of a billion shekels in the Haifa Bay region.
Kishon Park, which opened to the public in 2001, spans 33 dunams לאורך about 500 meters along the riverbank and to the entrance of the Shavit marina at the Kishon Port. The new project funded by KKL will increase the park’s area nearly 30-fold, as it will extend across 950 dunams from the Kishon estuary to Route 4. This section is only the first phase of a vast metropolitan park covering 6,000 dunams, larger than Yarkon Park, whose additional parts will be built after the evacuation of Bazan and will stretch from the slopes of Kiryat Tivon through the Nesher Lakes to the Kishon’s connection to the sea.
The NIS 100 million on which KKL decided this week are intended for the area where the Kishon flows into the sea. The Kishon River Authority was established in 1994 and has never received a budget of this scale, or anything close to it.
The project includes two stages: development of various areas in the park at a cost of NIS 108 million, plus about 10 percent for what is defined as unforeseen expenses, and construction of a visitor center, sailing clubs and an education center at a cost of NIS 78 million, bringing the total project cost to about NIS 186 million. On Tuesday, the board approved the fund’s investment in the development components. About NIS 9 million still missing from the project will be paid by the Kishon River Authority. As noted, the fund is considering investing an additional NIS 50 million in the construction project if it is agreed that the educational center will be under its ownership.
The development project includes, among other things, the establishment of an amphitheater park designed for about 3,000 spectators south of the Shavit marina and east of the existing park; the restoration of the sand landscape that characterized the area before it was damaged by industrial activity; and the development of the park’s core through tree planting, bicycle paths, sports areas and birdwatching hides.
In another section, an educational park will be established, with its central feature being a new island in the river created by excavating a new northern meander. The island will become a center for education and research activities. Bridges will lead to it, and a building will be constructed to serve as a research center and cafe.
Another major rehabilitation focus is the Narcissus Park between the Kishon River and Route 22, where marshes, a winter puddle and a saline soil ecosystem that existed there in the past will be restored.
Eyal Ostersinsky, chairman of KKL, said, "The lower Kishon is one of the most symbolic spaces in Haifa Bay. It is a place that has been damaged for years, and can now become a center of nature, community and leisure for hundreds of thousands of residents. This decision is part of KKL’s commitment to return to the public open, rehabilitated and accessible spaces."
