Contract awarded for Tel Aviv light rail

A joint venture between China Railway Group’s China Railway Tunnel Group subsidiary and Solel Boneh Infrastructure has won the design & build contract to build the Red Line of Tel Aviv, Israel’s light rail network. The contract is worth ILS 3.1 billion (US$ 800 million).

The total length of the extension is 23 km and the work involves the construction of two 5.5 m diameter bored single-track tunnels for an unspecified length of this route, along with 16 cross passages and six underground stations. The project client, government agency NTA-Metropolitan Mass Transit System, is responsible for the design of the stations, while the contracting joint venture will both design and construct the tunnels and cross passages.

The Red Line is the first of up to eight light railway lines planned for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

The joint venture is split 51:49 between China Railway Tunnel Group and Solel Boneh Infrastructure, and the Chinese contractor said the two parties were currently negotiating the allocation of work and other commercial preparations. It said make a further announcement regarding the start of construction once these had been agreed.