Guy Nardy
May 17th, 2022; 3:23PM
Electra has reported today about the signing of the franchising agreement for the light rail’s Green Line in Gush Dan. The agreement was signed between the TMT Group (Electra, Dan Transportation, and the international concern Alstom), of which Electra is a partner at a 40.05% rate, and NTA.
This is a PPP-type tender which includes the establishment, planning, maintenance, delivery, and funding of the project. The franchising period is of 25 years, and it includes a five years establishment period and a twenty years maintenance period. The expected revenues for the group for the entirety of the franchising period are estimated at approximately 9 billion shekels, including the 3.3 billion shekels establishment grant paid to the concessionaire. According to the franchising terms, the concessionaire must complete the financial close process within twelve months from the date of signing the franchising agreement. After the financial close process is completed, the establishment period of the project begins.
The Green Line is expected to travel from Holon and Rishon LeZion through Tel-Aviv to Herzliya. According to the plans, the route will mostly be above ground, but in the Tel-Aviv region, it is expected to be below ground, between Sderot Har Zion and the north end of Ibn Gabirol Street. Overall, the route is expected to have sixty-two stops, out of which four will be below ground, and it will span 39 kilometers. NTA’s official and most recent prediction is that the route will open in mid-2027.
Electra Group, under the management of Itamar Deutscher, operates through subsidiary companies it owns in five fields: construction and infrastructure projects in Israel; construction and infrastructure projects abroad; operating, service, and maintenance; planned real-estate development; and the franchising sector. The group has finished 2021 with a 16% growth in revenues (amounting to approximately 9 billion shekels) and a 25% growth in net profit (amounting to approximately 227 million shekels).