The value of the first phase of the project is more than 150 million dollars

Ofer Bloch, President & CEO: “This agreement, implemented during a global financial crisis, indicates that there is still an incentive to invest in mega agricultural projects using advanced technology"

Tel Aviv, Israel, March 09 - Netafim, a global leader in providing smart water solutions for agriculture, concluded an agreement with Etanalc, pursuant to which Netafim will be the sole provider of irrigation equipment and related services for the world’s largest drip irrigation project.

The project includes production of both Ethanol and electricity from cultivation of sugar cane.
The total development cost of the first phase of the project is over 900 million dollars.

The project is located in the Brazilian State of Tocantins, in northern-central Brazil.
The first phase of the project, which includes the first cluster of 3 mills, is scheduled for completion by 2011.
The total area of the project will cover over 300.000 hectares of land for the cultivation of sugar cane, in various phases, reaching a total of 12 mills

Sempra Energy Trading LLC previously concluded an "off-taking" agreement with Etanalc S.A.. under which, Sempra will purchase the Ethanol produced by the project for sale to its international markets, over a period of 20 years.

According to the agreement signed in Brazil, Netafim will be the sole provider of all irrigation systems for the Etanalc project.
In addition, Netafim’s agronomists and engineers will provide on-going support for the duration of the project.

Netafim is a world leader in providing dedicated solutions for irrigation of bio-energy crops. Netafim solutions enable growers to grow more crops with less resources.
Its main activity in the bio-energy crops is focused in Latin America, Africa, India and south-east Asia.

According to sources in Brazil, Netafim - through is Brazilian subsidiary - was selected because of its strong local infrastructure in Brazil, its specialization in sugar cane crops, ability to provide turnkey solutions and its comprehensive support services to its customers.