Funding of 2 billion shekels will be granted, although originally, Phoenix Insurance and Altshuler Shaham were supposed to grant the funding along with Mizrahi-Tefahot. The project aims to provide a solution to the problem of entering Gush Dan, emphasizing the usage of public transport and the encouragement of joint drives to popular destinations.

‍

Irit Avishar

September 29th, 2022, 1:06PM

A joint funding agreement in the infrastructure field was signed yesterday (Wednesday) by the banks; Mizrahi-Tefahot, Leumi, and the First International Bank of Israel (FIBI) will make available 3 billion shekels for the funding of the Fast Lanes project in the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area. The group that won the tender, Path to the City Ltd., was founded under the co-ownership of Electra, Electra Afikim, Dan, and Danya Cebus.

Path to the City won the tender two years ago, and shortly after, it was agreed upon that a consortium led by Mizrahi-Tefahot, Phoenix, and Altshuler Shaham would fund the project. Later on, the institutions decided to withdraw their participation, probably due to changes in the macro data, and, instead, the two banks (Leumi and FIBI) were recruited. Mizrahi-Tefahot and Leumi will grant 870 million shekels each for the funding of the project, while FIBI will grant 250 million shekels.

The Fast Lanes project’s objective is to solve the problem of heavy traffic at the entrance to the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area from the north, south, and east while emphasizing the usage of public transportation and encouraging joint rides to popular destinations in the metropolitan area.

The fast lanes will be free for public transportation and high-capacity vehicles and will collect a toll from private vehicles based on the availability of the road (similar to the Fast Lane Project near the Ben-Gurion Airport).

The project includes, among other things, the establishment of hybrid transportation centers combining parking lots, docks for public transportation and electrical transportation, technological systems for toll lanes along the Ayalon route, as well as the acquisition of 170 electric buses. In addition, the project also includes a shuttle service from the parking lots to popular employment destinations, the maintenance of the lanes, and the operation of the toll system in the lanes.