Construction Group Sues Israel, Claiming 683 Million Shekel Loss on Highway Tender
Translated & summarized from Bizportal by baba
A consortium led by Menarv-Milgam-Egis is suing the State of Israel, claiming it lost out on a 683 million shekel contract for the northern Trans-Israel Highway. The group alleges its bid was significantly better than the winning Shapir group's offer, but was rejected due to a dispute over traffic volume forecasts. The consortium claims the tender committee ignored the official National Transportation Model and relied on subjective assessments, costing the public a substantial sum. They are seeking to be declared the winners of the BOT project.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- A consortium claims Israel lost 683 million shekels on a highway tender by rejecting their superior bid.
- The group, Menarv-Milgam-Egis, is suing the state and seeking to win the northern Trans-Israel Highway tender.
- The dispute centers on conflicting forecasts for road usage and revenue projections.
- The consortium's bid was based on the official National Transportation Model, which they claim was ignored.
- They allege the tender committee relied on subjective assessments and a conflicted consultant.
- The project is a 34-year build-operate-transfer concession for a major Israeli highway.
A consortium led by Menarv-Milgam-Egis has filed a lawsuit against the State of Israel, alleging that it was unfairly passed over for a tender to construct sections 8 and 9A of the northern Trans-Israel Highway (Highway 6). The group claims its bid of 2 billion shekels was higher than the winning bid of 1.34 billion shekels submitted by the Shapir group, and that the state forfeited 683 million shekels by not selecting their offer. The consortium is asking the Jerusalem District Court to declare them the winners of the tender.
The core of the dispute centers on how to forecast road usage, known as 'traffic volume' (nesu'a). The project involves building a 34-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession from the Somech interchange to the Emek interchange in the Western Galilee. The winning bidder will finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the road, collecting tolls from drivers.
Menarv is a major Israeli infrastructure company, Milgam provides logistics and collection services, and Egis is an international corporation managing toll roads in 25 countries. According to the petition, the state projected 12 billion shekels in revenue for the concessionaire, while the consortium's bid anticipated 21 billion shekels, based on a forecast of 238,000 daily trips, 36% higher than the state's projection.
The consortium criticized the tender process as an "absurd theater," claiming that the committee ignored their superior technical and economic proposal, which was based on the official "National Transportation Model." They allege the committee instead relied on the subjective "gut feelings" of a consultant who, they claim, had a conflict of interest and improperly dismissed the national model to disqualify their bid. The group argues this decision represents an "extreme anomaly of governmental absurdity and an unprecedented economic failure" that cost the public 683 million shekels.