"There has been no real progress in the Tel Aviv light rail project for years. Regrettably, the franchisee cannot get the project up and running, which is why we revoked its franchise," Accountant General Shuki Oren told “IDF Radio" (Galei Zahal) today. The government took over the project after revoking the franchise of Metro Transport Solutions (MTS) two weeks ago, when it failed to secure the financing for the project.
Oren said, "There was lobbying from various directions for this project, but these pressures were irrelevant. We decided for ourselves. There are projects which have succeeded; regrettably, this one did not. I believe that with government handling, the timetable will be shortened. I believe that some sections of the railway will begin operating sooner than expected, without going into dates." He said that he believes that the Red Line between Petah Tikva through Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa, to Bat Yam could be built within six years.
MTS is a consortium comprising Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL), Egged Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd. and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; XETRA: SIE), China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), and Sociedade de Construcoes Soares da Costa SA of Portugal. It won the franchise to build the Red Line in December 2006, for an estimated cost of NIS 10 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 26, 2010
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