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The Israel cabinet has approved a plan to establish and develop the Beersheba River Park, which will span 5200 dunam (5.2 sq. km), to serve residents of Israel's southern region. The plan and its budget were approved on October 12, 2009. Based on the decision, an interministerial committee, headed by the director general of the Prime Minister's Office, Eyal Gabay, was set up to recommend the optimal organizational platform for the establishment and administration of the park. The Ministry of Environmental Protection will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the government decision. The metropolitan park will include, among others: an amphitheater, a promenade and biking trails, with special emphasis on the protection of the Beersheba River and conservation of the region's unique ecosystem. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan stated that the objectives of the park include: landscape rehabilitation of the river and its vicinity, preservation of the environs of the river as an open space accessible to the public and improvement of quality of life and the environment while developing tourism in the Negev and southern region of Israel. Minister Erdan further added: "After years of talking, we now have a government commitment, in the form of a dedicated body, whose only target will be the establishment and rehabilitation of the Beersheba River Park for the benefit and enjoyment of the residents of the Negev's capital and the entire area. The park will upgrade the quality of life and the environment of the residents of Israel's southern region, and will constitute an attractive tourism source, allowing for economic growth while cultivating historic and cultural values." It is estimated that some 300 million shekels (some $80 million) will be invested in the park by the government and by donors from abroad over the next seven years, with half this sum to be allocated by the government.
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