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Cross Israel Highway Ltd., an Israeli government entity specializing in advanced transport projects, is seeking a private company or consortium to manage the tender of the Haifa-Nazareth light rail project, which involves the construction and operation of a 41km light rail line between the two cities, located in the north of the country.

The line will begin at the Lev Hamifratz station in Haifa, the third-largest city in Israel, and pass through Kiryat Ata, Shfaram, Bir al-Maksur, Reineh-Mashhad and Upper Nazareth, before terminating in Nazareth. It will have 19 stops and 32 trains, which will travel at up to 100km/h, resulting in a maximum frequency of one train every four minutes.

The project has an estimated total investment of ILS6 billion (US$1.67 billion). As well as the railway, private partners will construct and operate the 19 stations, parking facilities, a depot, and a control center. The system is projected to carry up to 10,620 passengers per hour.

It will be tendered in two packages, which will be conducted by the successful bidder of this newly-announced tender. The assignment covers management of the overall design of the project on behalf of Cross Israel Highway; preparation of tender documents for both packages, evaluation of submissions and selection of successful participants; supporting the sponsors in achieving financial close; supervising construction works and the first three years of operations.

Eligible participants must present the following personnel: a local expert, project manager, railway expert, deputy project manager and designing manager.

The deadline to submit bids is 30 August 2018. For more information, see the Business Opportunity.

The detail of the tender requirements is probably due to the planned complexity of the light rail system. It will contain both interurban and municipal segments (36km and 7km long, respectively) and utilise electrified tram-train technology to prevent the need to switch trains between segments.

The line is scheduled to begin operating in 2023.