The lowest spot on Earth is due for a major boost in stature, thanks to an 850-million-shekel ( almost 214 million U.S. dollars) revival plan, Israeli rehabilitation program announced Thursday.

The joint Tourism-Environmental Protection ministries' comprehensive five-year plan calls for upgrading the existing hotel rows and building new tourist facilities, including restaurants, shopping centers, and a boardwalk - all architecturally integrated into the unique desert setting, according to Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov.

"This is an opportunity to design the region for generations," he said in a statement sent to Xinhua, adding, "We have made a significant step in the rehabilitation of the Dead Sea region and the tourism facilities in the area."

Currently, two relatively limited seaside hotel areas are nestled below craggy brown cliffs, both mirrored in one of the most mineral-rich bodies of water in the world.

The area, which lies along the border with Jordan, offers extensive natural vistas for hikers and desert denizens, and the sea's healing waters are an international haven for sufferers of assorted skin ailments.

Due to the massive salt concentrations, bathers float high enough in the water to comfortably read a dry newspaper, and can coat themselves with the black mineral-rich mud, which is a known remedy for psoriasis and related skin illnesses.

The mineral deposits filling the southern end of the sea are extensively harvested by both Israel and Jordan, and salt pans and processing plans are located on the opposing shores.

"According to the schedule - within nine months a new plan will be presented with the suggested design for hotels and tourism in the area," Misezhnikov said.

The development plan calls for putting up 12 to 16 new hotels in the next decade, adding another 4,000 extra rooms, and renovating existing ones. To that end, the ministry is enticing entrepreneurs with 9 million shekels (2.3 million dollars) in grants.

The Dead Sea Preservation Government Company and a national interdisciplinary team are tasked with coming up with a comprehensive plan that will not mar the striking landscape, and still serve one of Israel's biggest tourist draws.

Tourism Ministry figures rate the Dead Sea as the most crowded leisure destination in Israel in 2011, with 857,000 visitors during the year.

Meanwhile, 2011 Central Bureau of Statistics numbers showed the area's hotel occupancy running at 77 percent, topping Tel Aviv's 75.3 percent, and the southern Red Sea port and tourist town, Eilat, at 67 percent.