Major Israeli group kicks off EUR 100 mln residential project in eastern Bucharest

Neocity Group, founded and headed by Israeli businessman Ehud Benshach (68), has applied for and obtained the building permit for the first stage of a large project including more than 2,000 apartments on the shores of Lake Fundeni in eastern Bucharest. The project was drafted some 13 years ago, but it was put on ice meanwhile.

The developer intends to build on the land of 14 hectares, which he inherited before the crisis of 2007-2008, a residential complex with over 2,200 apartments, which would involve an investment of over EUR 100 million, according to calculations made by Profit.ro.

The Neopeninsula project, as inked for the first time in 2006, provided for the construction of 16 blocks with 2,700 apartments, a project that requires an investment effort estimated at EUR 300 million.

Until November 2018, the Neocity group was listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and after delisting, it became an arm of the investment fund Poalim Real Estate, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Hapoalim Bank, the largest financial group from Israel.

Ehud Benshach, who is also the president of Poalim Real Estate, and his brother, Mordechai, inherited the Israeli energy giant Petrolgas, which after merging with Pazgas in 1993, came to control 40% of Israeli gas. Ehud Benshach is also a shareholder in the energy company Global Power and the Israeli packaging plant Caniel.

(Photo source: Dreamstime.com)