Israel National Roads Company’s board is expected to discuss tomorrow a possible merger of Cross Israel into the larger state-owned roads company. While the Government Companies Authority estimates annual savings of about 80 million shekels, an initial internal transport-sector assessment says a full merger could save around 1 billion shekels over five years under the next five-year plan.
The expected savings stem from Israel National Roads’ larger scale, which would allow staff reductions, tighter schedules, and better management of complex projects. Officials also say the company can negotiate lower rates with suppliers, contractors, and service providers. Beyond budget savings, the merger is expected to shorten infrastructure timelines and reduce the costs created by delays. Another issue under review is whether service for Highway 6 users could improve in operations, oversight, and pricing.
Last week, the Government Companies Authority sent a letter to Israel National Roads saying it was considering merging Cross Israel into the company to improve efficiency, given the overlap in their activities. The move follows an earlier plan this year to merge Cross Israel with Ayalon Highways, which met fierce opposition from the Transportation Ministry. The ministry refused to give up Cross Israel, whose annual turnover is about 2.4 billion shekels, and warned that such a merger would hurt the state’s ability to advance and manage complex national projects while overloading Ayalon Highways, which handles transportation projects in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
After that opposition, reported by Calcalist, the Government Companies Authority asked Israel National Roads to examine absorbing part of Cross Israel’s activity. The authority wants to split Cross Israel’s work between Ayalon Highways and Israel National Roads, though no decision has been made yet on which areas would go to each company. That compromise removed the Transportation Ministry’s objections. Israel National Roads chairman Yigal Amadi instructed CEO Nissim Peretz to set up a steering team to examine the overlapping functions and the structural, budgetary, and administrative implications. The company is expected to submit its findings to the authority in July. Cross Israel manages toll roads, plans and executes national infrastructure projects, and works on public transport and metropolitan projects, including the extension of Highway 6.
