An auction to carry out excavation work - where the new headquarters of the IDF Intelligence Directorate will be constructed in the Negev - will be announced in the coming days, the Defense Ministry's Engineering and Construction Division stated.

The IDF announced the intelligence HQ will be moved to the Negev as part of its "IDF Ascent to the Negev" project, which began in 2017, to move more IDF bases down south.

This national-scale project being promoted with an estimated NIS 25 billion budget would provide a big boost to residents of the South.

With the relocation, approximately 20,000 soldiers in the technology branch alone would serve in the south and thousands more from other corps.

The Monument to the Negev Brigade in the Southern Israeli city of Beer Sheba, in the Negev, on February 17, 2018. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
The Monument to the Negev Brigade in the Southern Israeli city of Beer Sheba, in the Negev, on February 17, 2018. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
"We are advancing in the vision of strengthening the Negev, which is reflected...in the infrastructure that the state will provide and in projects that will integrate residents of the Negev and the periphery in IDF technology units," Gantz said.

"The defense establishment will continue to engage in Israel's national missions alongside the ongoing missions and meeting security demands and challenges," the Defense Minister added.