Hi-Speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Line Imperiled
By Ezra HaLevi
(IsraelNN.com) The high-speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv light rail project is in danger after the construction inside Jerusalem continues to surpass budget and time benchmarks.
The Knesset Finance Committee approved the budgeting of an additional 150 million shekels toward the Jerusalem light rail earlier this week, due to delays in the project. An additional 30 million shekels were approved for ongoing work costs. The additional allotment brings the cost of the project to 3.3 billion shekels so far.
The winner of the tender to construct the light rail, CityPass, will absorb the rest of the 287 million shekel cost of the delays.
The Jerusalem light rail project is running 18 months behind schedule currently. Government delays in expropriating land, assigning staff from the Antiquities Authority to perform the requisite inspections of earth excavated and general foot-dragging by Jerusalem city engineers have been blamed.
Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Line in Jeopardy
The Jerusalem Municipality has intervened in a dispute between the Finance Ministry and Transportation Ministry over the planned high-speed train from Jerusalem to Modi’in, Ben Gurion Airport and Tel Aviv, Globes business news reported.
The Finance Ministry, deterred by the progress of Jerusalem’s light rail and 4 billion shekels in budget overruns on the part of Israel Railways, seeks to scrap plans to budget for the construction of the high speed train in the coming years. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky met recently with Finance Minister Roni Bar-On to express the municipality’s strong opposition to such a move.
Israel Railways currently will not receive any further government funding until it declares which projects it will cancel, or postpone, to bring it within its budget constraints. Another project that may be delayed is the Akko-Carmiel line.
Contractor Threatens Lawsuit
Shapir Marine and Civil Engineering, the infrastructure contractor that will build the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv line, is threatening to sue the government and Israel Railways for the delays in commencing construction on the line.
Shapir’s controlling shareholder Israel Shapira threatened as much in letters to Minister of Finance Roni Bar-On and Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz.
Shapir, together with Austrian excavation contractor Alpine Group, were joint winners of the massive 1.6 billion shekel tender to excavate the tunnels for the high speed train.
Topic: Hi-Speed Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Line Imperiled (Read 2145 times)