Year in Review – Infrastructure and Project Finance

2018 was characterized by the promotion and development of numerous infrastructure and energy projects. A government decision in September 2017 led to the formulation of a multi-year plan for the development of 147 infrastructure projects in Israel at a total cost of NIS 116 billion. One of the goals of the plan is to promote public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

Transportation

In this framework, many transportation projects have been promoted over the past year: the construction of the Red, Purple, and Green Lines of the Tel Aviv Light Rail; the construction of Highway 16, which serves as a new access road to Jerusalem; and the construction of an eastern railway line, which will operate parallel to and in addition to the existing railway line in the western part of the country.

Similarly, the reform of service taxis began in July 2018. As part of the reform, the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety plans to publish tenders for the operation of 20 clusters of service taxi lines throughout the country, for a total of 110 lines. The implementation of this reform will spark multiple changes in the industry, including the addition of new service taxi lines, the use of new and technologically equipped vehicles, and, primarily, the use of the Rav Kav travel card in service taxis.

Energy

Several energy projects have been promoted in the past year. These include the construction of the Sorek 2 desalination plant, which will be carried out using the PPP method, and the tender process for the sale of the Alon Tavor power station as part of the IEC reform.

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In addition, the Israel Electricity Authority recently published a public tender for solar energy generation in vast photovoltaic fields connected to the national electric grid, with contenders bidding on the lowest price for the sale of solar energy to the national grid.

Gas

The Israeli Ministry of Energy published on November 26, 2018, a second call for bids, inviting international energy players to submit offers for the exploration of offshore soil.

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The IDF Moves South

The Ministry of Defense continues to promote the transfer of IDF bases to the Negev. As part of this process, a technological center, intelligence complex, and central supply center were all built this year. The supply center was in the framework of a PFI project and is designed to serve as a unified center for all of the IDF.