Tel Aviv Namal to be transformed into Times Square

The Tel Aviv Port is about to undergo a complete makeover at night, with live television broadcasts and advertisements on its buildings ala New York City's Times Square. Some NIS 30 million (about $8 million) will be invested in the project, which was initiated by the Atarim company, which develops the city's tourist sites and is co-owned by the Tel Aviv Municipality and the Tourism Ministry.

The company will set up a night film screening and culture complex in the northern part of the port. Atarim CEO Itamar Shimoni said that the investment in the entire compound is estimated at NIS 100 million ($26 million), while the film screening complex will cost some NIS 30 million. The first stage of the works will begin in November.

The complex is currently being tiled with a wood deck on which the port will hold concerts and multimedia events.According to Shimoni, this will be one of the biggest recreation centers in Israel. The plan is to hold cultural events, rock concerts, art exhibitions, video-art, etc. He wants to turn the complex into a recreation, culture and leisure complex for the entire family and bring more people in the morning and the afternoon, not just at night like now.