Jerusalem envisions future as Israel’s high-tech capital

The ancient city of Jerusalem – holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam and renowned for its rich history and culture – could soon become Israel’s high-tech and biotech capital thanks to a massive development project.

Located at the western entrance to the city near a new high-speed intercity railway station, the Jerusalem Gateway project will see 20 towers built over 55 acres of space in the coming years. The multibillion-dollar plan includes office blocks, hotels, commercial and cultural areas, housing and a variety of sustainable public transit options.

The hope is not only that it will transform Jerusalem into a beacon for innovation, but also that it will stem the negative migration rates that have long haunted the city.

Each year, thousands of Jerusalemites leave the city in search of greener economic pastures and better housing opportunities in other parts of the country. In fact, 20,000 residents moved out of Jerusalem in 2019 alone, according to figures from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

Many end up moving to Tel Aviv or the satellite cities that currently make up Israel’s booming tech center.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion is hoping to change that trend.

“Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” Lion told The Media Line. “My vision is for Jerusalem to be the leading city in Israel for high-tech, which can only be done by building offices. We’re also giving very significant tax benefits in comparison to cities like Tel Aviv and others in the center.”

“In fact, every high-tech company that bases itself in Jerusalem receives a 50% tax discount compared to what they would receive in central Israel,” he said.

Businesses that join the Jerusalem Gateway project will receive millions in special grants and tax benefits, according to project developers. Among these are 600,000 NIS, or about $185,000, in incentives for high-tech companies; firms with over 30 employees can receive a 7.2 million NIS  grant, or about $2.2 million; and biomedical companies can apply for a 4 million NIS, or $1.24 million grant.

The municipality also is focusing its efforts on strengthening public transit within the city. At the moment, Jerusalem has only one active light rail line.

Israel’s transport and finance ministries, as well as the Israel Land Authority and the Jerusalem Municipality, are the main government bodies involved in the Jerusalem Gateway project, which is being constructed in several phases.

By 2026, the groundwork and a few of the towers are slated to be completed; however, project manager Dror Laufer estimates that it will not be until 2029 that the vision really comes to fruition.

“The entire project includes 13.5 million square feet of new construction, around 20 towers of up to 40 floors, and we expect that it will generate 60,000 new job openings,” he told The Media Line. “The goal is to bring in as much high-tech and biotech to the area as possible.”

Melding the ancient character of Jerusalem (which has been inhabited since at least 3,000 BCE) with modern flair on such a large scale is not without its challenges.

Dan Ben Amram, one of Jerusalem Gateway’s main project managers, said that it was the most challenging endeavor he has undertaken so far in his decades-long career.

“The idea was to keep the Jerusalem vision with the new buildings, which was very, very complicated,” Ben Amram told The Media Line.

“We’ll keep the building with the [Jerusalem] stone,” he added, referring to the limestone that is a distinguishing feature of the city.

“It’s not going to be only glass buildings,” he said. “When people come, they will see it as Jerusalem, and not as Tel Aviv or other cities.”

Once complete, half a million people are expected to pass through the Jerusalem Gateway on a daily basis. International firms from the United States and the United Arab Emirates have already expressed an interest in buying up spaces in the new buildings, which could effectively bring Jerusalem into the modern age and turn it into a high-tech powerhouse.