The Ministry of Defense published a tender Sunday for a contract to provide transportation services to soldiers serving at the City of Training Bases (CTB) in southern Israel. The training base complex, officially known as Camp Ariel Sharon, will begin operations with large numbers of soldiers, after the Jewish holidays.
The camp will eventually serve 10,000 soldiers. The cost of the Ministry of Defense contract with the chosen firm has been estimated at several dozen millions of shekels annually. The length of the contract will be five years, until a permanent solution is found like the opening of a rail line from Beer Sheva to the CTB.
Ministry officials told “Globes” on Monday that a decision on the tender is expected within a few weeks because soldiers currently serving at the CTB already lack the proper transportation means.
The company selected for the contract will be required to operate from 19 stations for soldiers across the country and transport them to the CTB on Sunday and return them on weekends and holiday eves. Furthermore, it must employ stewards, provide a safety system, set up a call center for soldiers, and develop a specialized app to publish the timetable for the buses.
The tender is open to firms that hold fleets of at least 80 buses.
The Ministry of Defense said Monday that the tender was jointly published by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Transport. Camp Sharon opened its doors several months ago and will reach its intended capacity by the end of the year.
Defense officials demanded as early as three years ago a train line from Beer Sheva to the CTB to provide for the transportation needs of the soldiers but such a line is not in the works, primarily due to a lack of funds.
Estimates place the cost of that investment at some NIS 400 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 21, 2015
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