Knesset Economics Committee chairman Shalom Simhon (Labor) is asking the Ministry of Finance to issue a report explaining its approval of a NIS 5.5 billion cost overrun in the original budget for the light railway projects in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. “In a properly run country, someone would be held responsible for cost overruns on this scale,” Simhon said in a follow-up discussion last week of progress in the projects.
A Ministry of Finance representatives present at the discussion was unable to provide an answer, and Simhon demanded that a report be issued within a few days. The committee was told that the budget for the Tel Aviv railway had been doubled, from NIS 5 billion to NIS 10 billion, and increased from NIS 1.2 billion to NIS 1.7 billion for the Jerusalem railway.
Following an inquiry by the Manufacturers Association of Israel, Simhon also asked for a concentrated list of equipment that could be manufactured in Israel, such as railway tracks, railway cars, and accompanying accessories, thereby creating jobs for Israelis.
MK David Tal (One Nation) asked about a NIS 8.5 billion grant that various press reports say will be given to the winner of the Tel Aviv light railway tender. NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System general manager Yishay Dotan answered that no commitment had been made to give a predetermined sum as a grant. He said the bidders in the tender had to state what set-up grant they were demanding in order to fulfill their obligations. The stipulated sum will be a key consideration in choosing the winner.
Dotan announced that the Tel Aviv project was progressing according to the planned timetable, and the tender winner would be chosen in 2005. Five years later, in 2010, the line connecting downtown Tel Aviv with outlying areas will go into operation, and carry 90 million passengers a year, rising to 100-120 million passengers a year within ten years. The light railway will be combined with other means of transportation.
Jerusalem Mass Transit System Project light rail project manager and interim team manager Samuel (Shmuel) Tsabari said that the first line would be inaugurated in another three and a half years, provided that the money is raised in the next few months.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on May 13, 2004