The chairman and vice chairman of the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Mass Transit System (MTS) consortium have turned to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urgently requesting a meeting with him in order to prevent the cancellation of the current Tel Aviv light rail project. "Globes" reported this week that sources believe a government committee overseeing the project will cancel the MTS concession at a meeting on Thursday, and make it instead a government budgeted project.
MTS is a consortium comprising Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL), Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd., Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; XETRA: SIE), China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), and Sociedade de Construcoes Soares da Costa SA of Portugal.
MTS chairman and Africa-Israel CEO Izzy Cohen and MTS vice chairman Muesluem Yakisan of Siemens said that MTS had submitted a revised proposal to the Ministry of Finance back on March 16. The executives said that they are prepared to "immediately begin" work on the project, based on that proposal, developed with Yitzhak Swary.
Cohen and Yakison said that MTS has already invested hundreds of millions of shekels in the development of the project.
Cohen and Yakison said "It is with deep concern therefore that we understand that the Ministry of Finance is seriously considering this week to decide to cancel the project. We are writing to you after having approached the minister of finance and minister of transport. We would ask for your urgent involvement before a decision is made by civil servants in the Ministry of Finance that could result in such an important project being delayed for another generation. We are ready to get the project underway immediately."
MTS said that despite credit crunch and the global financial crisis, it has succeeded in organizing a group of international and Israeli banks which are ready and willing to finance the project. "In today's global climate there are many demands on available finance, and as it is a sign of confidence in MTS and the Israeli economy that the club of international banks is willing to finance a €2 billion transportation project in Israel."
Cohen and Yakisan conclude, "We believe that the project will provide an immediate and significant boost to the Israeli economy. It will provide at least 10,000 direct jobs and many thousands of indirect jobs."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 11, 2010
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