NIS 1.5 Billion Investment in Land and Buildings for Ashkelon Chip Project
Key Facts
Nadiv B. Logistica Group and Awz Group announced an agreement to buy land and build industrial facilities in Ashkelon, with a planned investment of about NIS 1.5 billion, according to a Globes report published on November 15, 2026. The amount covers the land purchase and construction of the buildings, while the announcement places the two companies together as partners in the project. The plan begins with the purchase of rights to a plot of land from the Israel Land Authority. The partnership is expected to begin detailed planning soon, with construction set to start about two years after the announcement. The announcement marks a new step in developing the Ashkelon project, following an earlier announcement of a deep-tech center and chip factory.
The land targeted in the first phase covers about 67 dunams, according to the report, with the site potentially expanding to about 113 dunams in total if adjacent land is allocated. That means the project's final area will depend on whether that land becomes available, while the current step focuses on acquiring rights to the initial site. In this sense, the current announcement is tied to securing land and building the project's industrial facilities. The larger area remains an expansion option in the plan, rather than the size of the first phase. These details distinguish the announced purchase scope from the complex's potential area after expansion.
The project's earlier context dates to an announcement published by Globes in November 2025, when Awz described the first-phase investment in the deep-tech center and factory as NIS 3 billion, out of a total investment of NIS 5 billion. That announcement provides an earlier financial framework for the project, while the November 15, 2026 announcement sets a planned investment of about NIS 1.5 billion for the land purchase and construction of industrial facilities. The current report links the planned spending to the partnership between Nadiv B. Logistica and Awz. The earlier announcement attributed the first-phase and total investment figures to Awz. The figures remain tied to the date and purpose of each announcement, as stated in the two reports.
In its account of the 2025 plan, Globes reported that the proposed complex in Ashkelon's industrial zone would include a research and development center, a silicon wafer fabrication plant, and an assembly, testing and packaging facility. The combined area of these components was estimated at about 70,000 square meters. Awz also said the plant would manufacture compound semiconductor wafers from the III-V family on silicon and other substrates, describing it as Israel's first private factory of its kind for these wafers. The plan envisions operating the facility on an open-access basis, allowing startups and academic institutes to use it. The earlier project description thus combines manufacturing, research and development, and assembly, testing and packaging services.
Awz founder and CEO Yaron Ashkenazi said in the earlier announcement that the chip factory "will be the beating heart of a new national deep-tech center." He linked the factory to a broader deep-tech center in the Terra Park area of Ashkelon. The Times of Israel reported that the planned 70,000-square-meter facility is intended to produce chips for the defense sector, while offering made-to-order manufacturing to civilian companies and academic institutions. The newspaper also said the project is advancing in cooperation with several government ministries. These details add to the description of the factory's and center's roles in earlier coverage of the project.
On project financing, Awz said in its earlier announcement that investors included international private-sector investors and others, without providing further details. The Times of Israel reported that the company had not disclosed whether public entities were participating or investing, despite government and quasi-government entities being listed as project partners. That disclosure relates to the 2025 announcement and does not specify how the planned investment in the current announcement will be divided between the partners. The November 15, 2026 report says the investment of about NIS 1.5 billion is earmarked for buying the land and building the industrial facilities. The partnership plans to begin detailed planning soon, then start construction about two years after the announcement.