Baran, the largest engineering firm in Israel, and major Canadian
engineering firm SNC Lavalin yesterday announced a partnership for competing in
a series of international tenders in Israel and abroad.
At a press conference attended by SNC Lavalin traffic division president
Robert Tribe and Canadian ambassador to Israel Michael Bell, the companies
announced their intention to bid in the $1 billion Jerusalem commuter light
railway tender and cellular networks tenders in Western Europe and the US,
among others.
Baran engineering group chairman Meir Dor revealed for the first time that
the two companies are currently bidding jointly in a $200 million tender for
the construction of oil refineries in Turkmenistan. A few weeks ago, Baran
announced on the stock exchange that it was bidding jointly with a North
American company in the Turkmenistan tender, but disclosed no additional
details.
Dor: "We have been trying to expand overseas in recent years, and have
therefore decided to work with the Canadian company in overseas projects, and
in some Israeli projects. We recently received the tender pamphlet for the
Jerusalem commuter light railway tender. We will also bid in the tender to be
published for a Tel Aviv mass transportation system".
According to Dor, Baran is currently considered the largest engineering firm
in Israel, and needs the Canadian company to advance further in the
international arena, particularly international financing and implementation of
giant projects.
Dor revealed that the two companies will also jointly compete in East
European tenders. He emphasized that the partnerships will not be confined to
engineering, but will encompass all joint ventures.
SNC Lavalin has an annual sales volume of 1.1 billion Canadian dollars. The
company has international mass transit activity in Canada, the US, Turkey, and
Thailand. It has also planned train, road, airfield, and port projects.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on February 1, 2000