Israeli Finance Minister Roni Bar-On on Wednesday unveiled a massive plan designed to spur local economy in the midst of a deepening global financial crisis.
The nation plans to increase government investment in infrastructure, energy, transportation, water, tourism and the labor market by 21.7 billion shekels (some 5.45 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009, a 41 percent increase from the 2008 investment, Bar-On told a press conference after presenting the plan to the socio-economic cabinet.
"This stimulus plan presented to the cabinet today is unprecedented in scale and in its contribution to economic efficiency," Israel's leading economic news service Globes quoted the minister as saying. "This increase will create at least 10,000jobs."
Noting that the global economy has plunged into "a very severe crisis" and the growth of the Israeli economy will be "severely" affected, Bar-On urged other ministers to endorse the plan as it is, warning that "not approving this plan will carry a heavy price."
The stimulus package, which caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved in principle, will have to clear the cabinet, and some sections must be authorized by the Finance Committee of the parliament, before it can be implemented, according to local daily The Jerusalem Post.
Noting that "there is general agreement that the plan is right," Olmert stressed at Wednesday's cabinet meeting that "the economic crisis will not wait until after the elections and we must deal with it here and now, responsibly."
Israel's central bank governor Stanley Fischer also voiced his support for the plan. Local news service Ynet quoted him as saying that it is essential for the government to take every possible budgetary measure to boost the economy now in order to facilitate the business sector, especially small and growing businesses, by allowing easier access to credit lines.
Source:Xinhua
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