ISRAEL’s NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System has officially launched the $US 50bn project to build a 150km three-line metro in Tel Aviv by hosting a three-day event for potential bidders which started on February 23. NTA says the conference was attended by more than 550 representatives from around 60 infrastructure companies from 21 countries, wishing to bid for the metro’s Infra 1 contract worth approximately Shekels 65bn ($US 20.94bn). “We have invited the best companies in the world to participate and to be partners in this historic effort,” says NTA’s CEO Itamar Ben-Meir. “Israel has gone through two complex and challenging years,” says NTA’s chairwoman Yodfat Afek-Arazi. “And yet, the strength of the Israeli economy has proven itself once again, and large-scale projects continue to progress. We are looking for companies that understand that building a metro is not just an engineering challenge, but a nation-building project.” There are three initial phases for the project. Prequalification of bidders for the infrastructure works starts this year with a closing date for bids of April 29. This will be followed by the publication of tenders in 2027. Construction will be split into two stages, with Stage 1 (Phase A on the map below) expected to open in 2037. The project will deliver a fully-underground, high-capacity metro network comprising three interconnected lines (M1, M2, and M3), totalling 150km and comprising around 300km of single-bore tunnels, 109 underground stations, four depots, and seven major transport hubs. When fully operational, the driverless (GoA4) network is expected to carry about 2 million passengers per day, which NTA says should significantly increase public transport usage across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Line M1 will have two branches at each end and will run from Ra’anana in the north and Kfar Saba in the northeast south through the city centre to Rehovot in the south and Lod in the southeast. At 85km, Line M1 will be the longest and most complex of the three lines with 82 stations, and is expected to carry around 1 million passengers per day. Line M2 will connect the eastern suburb of Petah Tikva to the city centre and then head south. Line M2 will be 25km long with 22 stations and is forecast to transport 540,000 passengers daily. Line M3 will total 39km with 25 stations and will form a semi-circle with a daily ridership of 480,000 passengers. The metro project is designated as a national priority project under Israeli law, and will be funded primarily through the state budget, which means it will have long-term government support to ensure continuity and statutory backing regardless of changes in policy or other events.
