Nissim Perez, general manager of Netivei Israel (National Transport Infrastructure Company), today presented the company's workplan for the coming year in a press briefing at the company's offices in Or Yehuda. Perez revealed that last week, the minister of transport and the minister of finance gave a green light to Netivei Israel to begin promoting the fifth and sixth railway tracks along the Ayalon Highway, one of the largest transportation projects in Israel, which had hitherto not been officially approved. Perez said that the budget for tracks would be NIS 35 billion. The project is very difficult to carry out, because most of it, the section from Shefayim north of Tel Aviv to the Hagana Railway Station in southern Tel Aviv, will be in an underground tunnel. The projected date for completing this ambitious project, designed to solve the railway jam problem in the central region, has not yet been set, but estimates are in 2030.
Before that the fourth track has to be completed. A tender was recently issued for the earthworks, which involves diverting parts of the Ayalon stream.
Perez also spoke at length about Highway 90, which recently made headlines and was referred to as a "highway of blood" following two accidents in one week in which 17 people lost their lives. Perez today presented the conclusions of the professional committee appointed at Minister of Transport and Intelligence Yisrael Katz's instruction following these accidents.
Perez said that the immediate range of solutions would include a separation line between the lanes that would attract the attention of drivers straying from their lanes, something that often results in loss of life on this road. Also in the short term, the shoulders of the road will be extended in places where this is legally possible.
In the medium term, the company plans to erect a hard barrier between the lanes using the 5-3 method. In the southern segment of the road, five kilometers of hard dividers will be built, followed by three kilometers without barriers in order to facilitate passing, in view of the massive traffic of trucks on the road. Perez says that the budget for the full solution, which includes upgrading the entire road and making into a two-lane highway in each direction with a hard barrier for entire length of the road, is estimated at NIS 15 billion.
Perez stressed that from the time he took up his position, the company had emphasized dealing with "highways of blood," and a new section had been founded to detect high-risk areas, with an emphasis on risky left turns. Perez said that the company had thus far dealt with over 80 projects for high-risk locations, and that 40 more such projects were open. "As far as we are concerned, every road on which there is an accident with fatalities becomes a high-risk location," he stated.
33 public transportation lane projects and connecting the Hasharon track
According to Perez, a solution for congestion on Israel's roads currently being promoted by the company consists of 33 public transportation lanes stretching for 260 kilometers, most of them in central Israel. He said that as of now, the number of passengers in a private car at peak times was 1.2, while a 1.5 ratio was needed to solve the traffic jams problem. As Perez sees it, in order to solve the road congestion problem and combat traffic accidents, the company needs to switch from a traffic control approach to a traffic management approach.
Perez also said that in the framework of the eastern railway track project, to which over NIS 10 billion had been allocated, Netivei Israel would connect the eastern railway track to the Hasharon railway track, and through it to railway stations in Tel Aviv. The Hasharon railway track project was completed last year before being connected to the coastal track, thereby constituting a railway white elephant. Passengers currently traveling by railway from stations in Ra'anana waste over 30 minutes going to the Tel Aviv station; after Israel Railways connected the tracks this year, this time will be cut in half.
Perez later talked about Israel Railways' electrification project, some of which is being carried out by Netivei Israel. "I told the minister, 'Israel Railways should run trains and provide service.'" Commenting on the high-speed train to Jerusalem, whose launching was accompanied by many malfunctions, Perez said, "Malfunctions are permissible, but taking only one company (Spanish company Semi, S.G.) for this project was a mistake. I'd like to see several international companies competing with each other. A company that doesn't do good work should be sent home."
Current five-year budget - NIS 57.4 billion
The company plans its work by five-year periods. The budget for the five years ending in 2021 is NIS 57.4 billion, of which NIS 11.6 billion is for continuation of projects from previous five-year periods (e.g. Highway 531), NIS 17.5 billion is for new projects, and NIS 5.5 billion is for public transportation projects. The company will publish 23 tenders amounting to NIS 5.5 billion in 2019 (13 road tenders, six railway tenders, and four expansion tenders).
According to an audit report on behalf of the Ministry of Finance presented by Perez, of the 15 projects examined for which Netivei Israel is responsible, four are not meeting the timetable, three are ahead of schedule, and eight are projected to open by the planned date. Where budgets are concern, the same report states, "The company is meeting the budget target in 28 of the 29 projects being carried out, and eight of them are being finished for less money that listed in the tender readiness report."
Netivei Israel chairperson Oded Shamir says, "When I came to the company, there was a period of confusion after the previous general manager was laid off. I didn't know where I would fit in, and I ran straight into a police investigation. I realized that the company needed a change. I selected the general manager from dozens of candidates, and decided to remake the company. As I see it, the company has changed completely in both its ability to deliver and regaining the confidence of state institutions - the minister of transport, the Ministry of Finance, and the Accountant General. It was only a few years ago that they considered shutting the company down altogether.
"The company is now fulfilling 100% of its tasks. It received several tasks that could not be taken for granted, such as construction of two airports, the fourth track, and the fifth and sixth Ayalon track. It can be said that the company is the best in the infrastructure sector. It is winning the trust of the prime minister and other ministers, "Shamir concluded.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 22, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019