In response to a NIS 186 million lawsuit filed by Shikun u'Binui Solel Boneh Infrastructures Ltd. against government company Cross Israel Highway, alleging a series of failures in paving a section of Highway 6, Cross Israel Highway is asserting that Solel Boneh is the negligent party in the project.
Cross Israel Highway is now suing Solel Boneh for NIS 30 million in "contractual compensation" for what it says are serious delays amounting to 14 months in finishing a project for construction of a 7.6-kilometer section of Highway 6 between the area where Nahal Shuval crosses Highway 40 and the Lehavim Interchange (the connection of Highway 6 with Highway 31 and the community of Lehavim).
The dispute between the companies began in May, when Solel Boneh, a subsidiary of Shikun & Binui Holdings Ltd. (TASE: SKBN), filed suit against the Cross Israel Highway company for what it said were failures that caused substantial damage during its work on paving the road section between Lehavim Interchange and Shokat Interchange on Highway 6. Solel Boneh won the tender for building the section in 2012 with a NIS 270 million bid.
The project was scheduled for completion in 28 months, but the work took 45 months, and was completed in August 2016. The road section was actually opened to traffic four months after that, but Solel Boneh alleges that Cross Israel Highway refused for a long period to issue a completion certificate for the project, and delayed payment of a great deal of money. Solel Boneh asserts that it lost money on the project.
In its statement of claim, the contracting company states, "The respondent and the workers on its behalf completely failed in the preparatory process. Among other things, they issued an order to begin the work on November 1, 2011, although the work it assigned was very different than that presented in the tender, part of which had not been approved for carrying out."
Solel Boneh also says that Cross Israel Highway did not arrange the necessary coordination with Netivei Israel - National Transport Infrastructure Company and with Israel Police, and did not provide suitable insurance, thereby delaying the start of work on the project by 4.5 months.
In the two pleadings filed by Cross Israel Highway in response to Solel Boneh's lawsuit - a statement of defense and a counter claim - the former asserts that the opposite of Solel Boneh's statements is true.
Cross Israel Highway's counter claim tells a story of negligence by Solel Boneh, which Cross Israel Highway says caused an unjustified 14-month delay in finishing the work beyond the 28 months in which it was obligated to finish the job according to the contract. "Solel Boneh cannot justify a 14-month delay beyond the 28 months to which it was bound under the contract. This is the main point of the dispute between the parties, and Cross Israel Highway is determined to exercise all of its rights against Solel Boneh," the statement of claim says.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on August 21, 2017
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