Urban Transport Lines announced it is rejecting the Ministry of Economy's directive to freeze all tenders

Urban Transport Lines (NTA), which is responsible for promoting the three rail lines in Gush Dan, announced on Wednesday that it is rejecting the Ministry of Economy's directive to freeze all tenders for the two new lines in Tel Aviv.
The announcement was sent after the Ministry of Economy this week frozen tenders totaling about NIS 15 billion for the "Green Line" (Holon-Tel Aviv-Herzliya) and the "Purple Line" (TA-Or Yehuda) that are due to open in five and a half years, This is under the argument that TAO has not completed reciprocal procurement procedures with the Ministry of Economy. Reciprocal procurement is a purchase obligation of a foreign company operating in Israel, sometimes up to 20% of the value of the transaction.
At the same time, the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance announced today that it supports PLO's position: "Despite the provisions of the Regulations, the PA (Industrial Cooperation Authority - Lag) did not apply to the Attorney General for consent to the freeze of the tender procedures and of course not accepted Consent as aforesaid.
"Therefore, your notice of the freeze of the tender proceedings was made not in authority and contrary to the regulations and does not impede the conduct of the tendering procedure in its proper manner. It is also appreciated that your conduct as set out in the letter contradicts your commitment set out in section 4 of the December 31, 2018 summary judgment hearing In other words, PPP method transportation projects. "In other words, the conflict between the Ministry of Economy and the NPO became a second before the government dispersed into a conflict between the finance ministries and the economy.
In his letter, Glick mentions that the tender for both projects "is a major pillar of the most important, largest and most complex project in progress in the State of Israel today, and the establishment and operation of a mass transit system in the Gush Dan area, which suffers from increasing daily traffic congestion. Of the immense importance of the success of the tender for the benefit of the State of Israel and its residents, "it is also an international tender that" world-renowned infrastructure companies and leading international funders intend to participate in, participation which is of course essential to its success.
Despite the sensitivity of NTA, the Ministry of Economy assures that the announcement of cancellation of tenders, some of which have already been launched, arrived "with surprise, lack of authority and contrary to the law.
- Without the consent of the Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance, and without being given the opportunity to make our arguments against the above. The aforementioned conduct, which takes place in the media, rather than through internal discussions between government bodies as expected, could cause real damage (which may not be realized) to the tender and the project in particular, and to the international reputation of the State of Israel in connection with international tenders. In fact, as of this writing, you receive inquiries about the uncertainty created by your message. "
Luckily, Glick claims that the IAA applied for an exemption by July, when "the application was rejected but because the application was filed by the IAA and not by the very questionable general accountant. This is a purely procedural matter, which does not constitute grounds for refusing to implement the outline. I feel sorry for the way you chose to act. I believe that, as summarized in the outline, you must accept the request of NTA and its position as explained in these letters, and hope that this will avoid irreparable damage to the tender and project that are of such importance, "Glick concludes.
The Ministry of Economy stated in response: "According to the Tender Obligation Regulations, NTA is obligated to reciprocate the light rail tender (green and purple lines). Netanyahu's application for exemption was rejected by virtue of the discretionary authority in the regulations, and it is therefore for Netanyahu to implement the provisions of the law and we will abide by it. A neat answer to the company request that came to us just an hour ago will be forwarded to her. "
In a response letter sent by Netanyahu, incoming CEO Haim Glick is responsible for the Ministry of Economy, Ziva Iger, "We reject all your demand that was made without authority and without prior notification of the freeze of tender procedures. Arrangement of reciprocal obligation in connection with the projects was delayed until This is solely because of the refusal of the ICA to implement the outline, and because of the refusal of the ICA to apply for the PLO for non-material reasons - and for no other reason, "writes Glick.