Ana Pastor and her Israeli counterpart sign technical cooperation agreement on transport

This visit by the Spanish minister comes in response to an invitation from the Israeli minister during his visit to Madrid in May, when he expressed his government's interest in Spain's recent infrastructure development.

At their meeting, Ana Pastor also spoke to her Israeli counterpart about Spain's interest in current projects and the experience Spain could bring to the new railway lines, the urban metro project in Tel Aviv and the development of ports and roads.

Agreement signed

The agreement signed by Ana Pastor and Israel Katz establishes cooperation between the two countries on transport and infrastructure issues in such a way as to enable the fostering of cooperation between Spanish and Israeli companies on projects in these sectors; the exploration and identification of specific partnership projects; the exchange of information on experiences and best practices; the organisation of professional workshops on various transport-related topics; and the promotion of cooperation related to specialised academic studies in the field of transport and the training of personnel.

Eilat-Beersheba railway link

The construction project to build a railway link between Eilat and the centre of Israel forms part of the transport programme designed by the Government of Israel to develop the outermost regions of the country and enhance their connection to central regions.

This project is mainly aimed at providing the country with a regular passenger transport service between Beersheba and Eilat. An estimated budget of 3 billion euros has been earmarked to the construction of this section (150 kilometres in length).

Furthermore, a freight transport service will also be provided to enable a connection between the Dead Sea and Negev with Eilat and the Port of Ashdod. This new section will in turn enable the transit of freight between the Port of Ashdod, Eilat and the Port of Haifa in the Mediterranean.

The public engineering company of the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, INECO, is already collaborating on the technical assistance for the project to build the future high-speed railway line.

At the meeting, the Spanish minister conveyed to her Israeli counterpart the interest shown by Spanish companies at being able to take part in the bid process for this project.

Other railway projects

Besides the Eilat-Beersheba project, other large-scale projects are also in the pipeline to develop railway infrastructure and urban transport in Israel:

•Construction of the light metro system in Tel Aviv. The Government of Israel has launched the construction project to build Israel's first light metro line in Tel Aviv. The line will be 21.5 kilometres long. INECO forms part of a consortium (Isolux Corsán, Metro Madrid, Indra and Rover Alcisa) bidding on the systems and workshops for one of the lines. Furthermore, INECO and FCC have entered a bid for the design and construction of the 16-kilometre TBM tunnel, at an estimated cost of 500 million euros.

•Construction of three new passenger railway lines in northern Israel. INECO is collaborating on the design of these projects.

•Electrification of the railway network and systems improvement. The conventional railway network in Israel comprises 900 kilometres of track, of which 420 kilometres will be electrified initially.

The electrification project has already entered the design stage (in which INECO is involved) and Israeli railway companies have already issued an invitation to tender for the selection of bidders for the design and construction of the project.

Port and road projects

Israel is also making significant efforts in terms of its roads and ports. Regarding the latter, particular mention should be made of the improvements to the Port of Ashdod aimed at increasing the capacity of port cargo installations and the modernisation of existing facilities.

The Spanish minister wished to highlight the know-how, extensive experience and significant investment by Spain in these areas over recent years.

In this regard, the agreements reached in Israel maintain the Spanish Government's line of action and commitment to the internationalisation of Spanish companies and its will to share experience and knowledge with those countries interested in boosting their transport infrastructures.