(Bloomberg) -- Israel’s long-delayed sovereign wealth fund is expected to begin operations before the Jewish new year begins in September, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

It also presented the final lineup of the fund’s board of directors. 

Parliament voted to set up Israel’s first sovereign wealth fund in 2014 to invest surplus tax revenue from newly discovered off-shore natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, setting a 1-billion shekel ($315 million) threshold before it could begin operations. This target has repeatedly been missed due to lower-than-expected tax revenue from the gas industry. 

Former Stanley Fischer Aide Joins Israel Wealth Fund Board

The Bank of Israel’s deputy governor, Andrew Abir, will sit on the board overseeing the implementation of investment policy, alongside Finance Ministry Accountant General Yahli Rothenberg and Amir Barkan, a deputy minister in the prime minister’s office. 

The board will be led by Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and include three previously announced private-sector members -- Barry Topf, a former Bank of Israel market operations director; Israeli businessman Rony Halman; and Yarom Ariav, a former Finance Ministry director general.

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