Tel Aviv Light Rail derailed by one year due to COVID-19
NATA chairman places blame at the feet of canceled tender, lacks ‘300 Chinese workers’
By HAGAY HACOHENAn illustration of the Tel Aviv light rail Purple Line.(photo credit: NTA)
Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NATA) chairman Rami Blinkov told the Knesset Economy Committee that the Tel Aviv Light Rail will not open before October 2022, one year later than expected, The Marker reported on Wednesday.NATA told the committee chairman, Shas MK Ya’acov Margi, that due to a tender canceled in 2017, work had been pushed back. Blinkov also claimed that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, “we are lacking Chinese managers and workers, who are constructing a significant portion of the line.” He argued that NATA needs 300 workers to get back on track.The canceled 2017 tender exceeded its original NIS 2 billion budget, with proposals reaching NIS 4b., which is why it was dropped and reissued, resulting in offers closer to the original budget.The Red Line, which is the first among three future light-rail lines meant to serve central Israel, was meant to be completed in October 2021. The Red Line is composed of an underground segment and a street-level segment. The cost of all three lines is estimated at NIS 47b.Last year NATA announced “the largest tender in the nation’s history,” to the tune of NIS 15b., intended to reach the completion of all three lines. On Friday, it was reported it is postponing the Green and Purple lines to a later time.NATA is meant to return to the Knesset later this week to discuss its underground Tel Aviv metro plan, which was completed within the allocated time frame and is expected to be approved.The company is at the helm of one of the largest public transportation projects in the country. The 39-km. Green Line, of which approximately 4.5 km. will be underground, will connect the cities of Holon and Rishon Lezion with central Tel Aviv, and continue to Tel Aviv University, the industrial and commercial zones of western Herzliya and Atidim Business Park, when completed.Israel’s traffic jams may have eased up during COVID-19, as more people work from home, but due to the country’s size, many Israelis are looking forward to the day they can leave their vehicle at home and commute to the office with efficient public transportation.When speaking about how the media allegedly misrepresent him, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2017 that “you see traffic jams, I see highways.”
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