The Inter-ministerial Tenders Committee, whose members include representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Transport and the Trans-Israel Highway Company, today published the preliminary screening documents for a BOT tender for the planning, construction, operating and maintenance of the northern parts of the Trans-Israel Highway. In the framework of the tender, the franchisee will be required to plan, finance, build and operate a toll road for a period of 30 years, at the end of which he will return the highway to the State.

Segment 7 runs from the outskirts of Yokneam to Tel Kashish Intersection. The length of the segment is approximately 5 kilometers, including a tunnel approximately 1.7 kilometers in length.



Segment 3 runs from Tel Kashish Intersection via Haamakim Intersection to Somech Intersection. The length of the segment is approximately 12 kilometers, including tunnels approximately 2 kilometers in length.

With the approval of the Economics Committee, the government has decided that the project will be carried out in cooperation with the private sector and will be operated as a toll road in Segments 3 and 7.

Implementation of the northern parts of the Trans-Israel Highway is part of the Netivei Israel plan that was approved by the government on February 24, 2010 and deals with strengthening and connecting outlying areas to central Israel by means of a network of highways and railways.

The international tender for carrying out the project includes two stages: The first stage is a preliminary screening procedure and the second is the submittal of bids by bidders who are deemed suitable at the end of the preliminary screening procedure.

Bodies that submit bids in the preliminary screening procedure must meet a number of threshold conditions pertaining to the professional ability and financial robustness of the contenders, as follows and inter alia:
o Professional experience in the construction of tunnels with a total length of at least 4.5 kilometers and setting up transportation infrastructures with a financial scope of over NIS 150 million.

Financial ability which, in the opinion of the Tenders Committee, will enable the contenders to provide the necessary capital for executing the project in accordance with the standards defined by the Tenders Committee and, inter alia:
o An average annual turnover of over NIS 400 million
o Average positive cash flow over the past three years
o Equity capital of approximately NIS 1.5 million to every 1% of the Bidder's holdings

The final date for submitting bids in the framework of the preliminary screening procedure is May 31, 2011. Submittal of bids in the second stage of the tender is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2012.

The Tenders Committee includes representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Transport and the Trans-Israel Highway Company. The Committee is headed by Deputy Accountant General Mr. Gil Shabtai.

Accountant General Mr. Shouky Oren welcomed the start of the proceeding for extending the Trans-Israel Highway. The Accountant General noted that fruitful cooperation between the various parties involved in the process is the key to the success of projects carried out in conjunction with the private sector, with the Trans-Israel Highway being one of the most successful of these projects. The implementation of the project, along with connecting central Israel to outlying areas, will constitute a growth engine for the economy in the years ahead.

The Accountant General added that having the government's infrastructure projects carried out in cooperation with the private sector is a lever for the effective and high-quality implementation of infrastructures, in accordance with the timetables and budget. The tender for the construction of the northern segments is one of the most important of the infrastructure projects that the government is promoting in cooperation with the private sector, including tenders for the construction of desalination facilities, solar power plants in Ashalim, the Israel Police Training Center, the State Archives and more.