Last Thursday, NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. CEO Yehuda Bar-On sent a letter to company employees, asking them to ignore reports in the press on the failure of company tenders and promising that the light rail red line will be inaugurated as planned in October 2021. "Even if, god forbid, we have to cancel the tender - we are determined and prepared to continue moving forward with the works on the defined schedule and budget, " Bar-On wrote to the employees.
Bids were NIS 2-3 billion higher than expected in the rail system tender, which included building and maintenance of tracks, signaling, ticketing, information and electrical systems. The value of the tender was estimated by consultant BP at NIS 2.5 billion. NTA's internal estimate was verified by Aegis, operating on behalf of the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance. In fact, one group, led by French company Alstom, submitted a NIS 4.3 billion bid, while the second group, led by another French company, Thales, submitted a NIS 6 billion bid.
At present, NTA is preparing to split the tender into an infrastructure tender for laying track infrastructure and a technological system tender. Senior officials at the Ministry of Transport Rail Department estimate that the high bids submitted in the tender reflect the risks of integrating the systems into the Chinese trains that will be used on the red line.
"Globes" found out that attempts recently carried out by the Chinese company CNR, which was awarded the rolling stock tender, to use other companies for maintenance of its systems in Israel had failed due to the difference in specifications between European and Chinese standards.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 4, 2016
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