Ecological Beach Planned Near Dolphin Reef in Eilat

A pier formerly used for transporting oil will be transformed into a unique environmental tourist attraction on the resort city’s coast.

By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C

A 200-meter-long stretch of shoreline on the Gulf of Eilat adjacent to the port city’s Dolphin Reef recently was turned over to the Eilat municipality by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipe Company (EAPC) for development as an ecological beach with an environmental education center.

An old pier at the site, formerly used for transporting oil, will be renovated as an environmental tourist attraction – complete with a marine garden, wind chimes and natural climbing structures – as well as a headquarters for Israeli youth group Shomrei Hamifratz (Guardians of the Gulf).

This is the second sandy parcel transferred to the city by EAPC after 50 years of corporate ownership. The first stretch, 300-meter-long Kazaa Beach, was turned over last July and proved popular with beachgoers.

“I am excited to give the residents of Eilat and its visitors another coastal strip added to the southern EAPC strip that opened to the public last summer. We will continue to act with determination to turn more and more beaches currently occupied by institutions into public beaches,” Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi said.

Halevi added that he hopes the beach will serve as a model for other coastal cities in Israel. The municipality is working with the architectural firm Mayslits Kassif of Tel Aviv on a larger plan to develop the Gulf of Eilat coast from Taba to Aqaba.

Eilat’s coastline encompasses a marine reserve with magnificent coral reefs.

Source: United with Israel