Another step has been taken towards the construction of the new multi-billion shekel IDF defense intelligence campus in the Negev. Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELTR)-Minrav Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MNRV), Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd. (TASE: SKBN), Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL), Shapir Engineering and Industry Ltd. (TASE:SPEN), and Ashtrom Properties Ltd. (TASE:ASPR) have been selected to bid in a tender to be published by the beginning of next year for construction of the campus. The Ministry of Finance today announced that the five groups and companies had passed the first preliminary selection stage conducted in recent months.
The company or group selected in the tender will design and build the new center, and receive a franchise to operate it for 25 years. The tender in which the companies will bid is the largest by the Ministry of Defense in the framework of the plan for moving IDF camps to southern Israel.
The Ministry of Defense added that the five bidders selected for the tender had met the threshold financial and engineering conditions set. The project is estimated at NIS 10-12 billion, including both construction and advanced technological infrastructure.
It is believed that the tender winner will begin construction work on the intelligence complex some 18 months after being selected. The complex, located near Omer, north of Beersheva, is to occupy 2,500 dunam (625 acres), with 350,000 square meters of built-up space.
Initial occupancy of the campus is scheduled for late 2022, including most IDF Intelligence Corps units, many of which are currently located in central Israel. When these units are moved to the new complex, the military camps on land in high-demand areas in the central area will be vacated, with the land being taken over by the Israel Land Administration for purposes of residential construction.
An IDF intelligence source said today, "The agreements with the government ministries concerning transportation arrangements and human resources must be completed by the date of the tender."
These questions, plus the access roads for public transportation to the intelligence campus and residences for the many permanent army soldiers slated to serve in it, have not yet been arranged with the Ministries of Finance and Transport. Those serving in the campus will arrive there in the morning and leave in the afternoon, which military sources said requires advance deployment of transportation infrastructure, such as a railway. "We hope to reach agreements in this matter in the coming months," one military source said today.
Occupancy of the IDF training city at Negev Junction was completed in recent months. Simultaneously with the plan for construction of the intelligence campus, the Ministry of Defense is also promoting the plan to build a teleprocessing campus in Beersheva, slated for completion in the second half of 2018.
Ministry of Defense Southern Relocation Administration head Brig. Gen. (res.) Itzik Cohen said, "With the completion of the training city in the Negev, the Ministry of Defense examined in depth the economic and social benefits for the Negev. It is clear that the construction of the complex will contribute a great deal to the region in employment, leveraging businesses, education, health infrastructure, etc. The IDF move to the Negev will contribute to a significant improvement in the IDF's operational capabilities, and also give the Negev economy a NIS 6 billion annual boost."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on April 5, 2017
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