The social economic cabinet today renewed approval for the A1 high-speed rail link to Jerusalem as part of the stimulus plan for national infrastructure projects. The social economic cabinet, headed by Minister of Finance Ronnie Bar-On and Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz, also boosted the budget for the project 2.5-fold to NIS 6.4 billion. The project's original estimate by Israel Railways, included in the five-year infrastructures plan of 2003, was NIS 2.7 billion. The decision was made after the cabinet was briefed on the revised feasibility study for the line, which predicts an increase in passenger traffic.
Bar-On decided to accept Mofaz's position to build the line despite the cost overruns. He noted that the line was a national project of strategic importance. The Ministry of Finance said that all the statutory procedures for the project were almost complete, and that cancelling it would cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels in compensation for cancelled contracts.
The full cabinet was due to discuss the request at Sunday's meeting, but decided instead to pass the issue to the social economic cabinet.
Israel Railways originally planned to open the high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line in 2010, but it is unlikely to be ready before 2015. Israel Railways has already spent NIS 400 million on the first, easy, sections of the line from Tel Aviv through Modi'in, and has already built the rail overpass over Road 3 at Shaalvim.
The tender for digging the first tunnel from this overpass toward Shaar Hagai at the entrance to the Judean Mountains has not yet been published. Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd. won the tender to build the central section of the line in August 2007, at a cost of NIS 1.6 billion. However, work has been delayed until the detailed plan is ready. "Globes" reported that no solution has yet been found for removal of the rubble from the tunnels.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 2, 2008
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