Israel Railways has resumed construction work on the Ashkelon-Beersheva line, following the settlement reached last week between the Ministries of Finance and Transport.
The Ministry of Transport wanted a double-track line, while the Ministry of Finance wanted a single track. The ministries agreed to build a single track, with infrastructure for adding a second track in the future.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israel Railways today published two tenders for earthworks on the 20-kilometer section of the double-track line between Kibbutz Yad Mordechai and Netivot, and for construction of two bridges across Nahal Shikma and Nahal Bohu. The cost of this work is estimated at NIS 400-500 million. Waxman Govrin Engineering Ltd. is managing the project. Estimated time of construction is 24-36 months.
18 months ago, "Globes" was the first to disclose that work on the Ashkelon-Beersheva line, which will stop at Netivot, Sderot, and Ofakim, had been suspended because of disagreements in the government whether to lay a single or double-track line. The total cost of the project is estimated at NIS 2 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 10, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009