The prequalification stage for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan region Metro tenders has ended and NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit has published initial details about the 20 international and Israeli consortia, which include 33 companies, which filed requests to bid in the tender. For the first time there are two US companies (previously US companies have not bid for Israeli infrastructure projects) and nine Indian companies (which until now have not participated in NTA tenders). There were also 11 Israeli companies, six Chinese companies and five from Europe in the prequalification stage.

The results announced today relate to the preliminary selection of the Metro's Infra 1 phase, which includes the heavy civil engineering work of the project: digging the tunnels, building the underground structure of the stations, and the structures connecting the street surface to the underground station. The tender, worth an estimated NIS 65 billion, includes digging 75 kilometers (out of 150) of double tunnels and 59 underground stations. This is the core section of the M1 line, all of the M2 line, and more than half of the M3 line.

NTA will now examine whether the consortia meet the threshold conditions to access the huge tenders that the company is due to publish by the end of 2026, in which the contractors who will carry out the Metro’s heavy infrastructure work will be selected.

NTA CEO Itamar Ben-Meir said, "The big response to the tender is like an extraordinary international vote of confidence in Israel and the Israeli economy, especially in the political-security reality of recent years. The number of bidders places the Israeli Metro on par with the largest and most sought-after infrastructure projects in the world. The fact that 11 Israeli companies are bidding in the tender is particularly gratifying, because the experience they will gain in the field will serve the country in future projects, which will reduce dependence on foreign companies."

NTA chairwoman Yodfat Afek-Arazi added, "This is the result of professional and focused effort that has been done over the past year with the world's leading infrastructure companies. We listened to concerns, removed barriers and presented the magnitude of the opportunity. The fact that 20 consortia chose to compete for the project is a major expression of confidence in the Metro, in the Israeli economy and in our ability to implement the largest infrastructure project in the country's history. The international market voted with its feet. The result clearly shows that the world is looking at the Metro in Israel and wants to be a part of it. There are no shortcuts in the Metro project. This is a long-distance race. This is a significant milestone, but for us this is just the beginning."

When Afek-Arazi talks about the focused efforts, she refers, among other things, to the fact that in recent months the company has conducted a global recruitment and advertising campaign. As part of this, delegations went out for face-to-face meetings with dozens of leading infrastructure companies in the world, from East Asia, the US and Europe. Last February, an international conference held by NTA for the Metro project in Gush Dan was also held in Tel Aviv, to present to infrastructure companies the tenders in the first infra phase. The conference was attended by more than 550 participants, including representatives of over 60 international infrastructure companies from some 20 countries, alongside Israeli officials working in the industry.

Minister of Transport Miri Regev said, "This is a tremendous expression of confidence in the economic strength of the State of Israel and in the implementation capabilities of the Ministry of Transport and NTA to carry out the largest project in the country's history. In these complex times, global companies are choosing to invest, compete and build here and this is no coincidence. The Metro will connect Israel and boost the productivity of the entire economy. NIS 34 billion of socio-economic benefit per year, a million fewer cars on the roads, 2 million passengers per day, this is not a transport project but a social reform that will change the face of the country."

Ben-Meir believes that digging will begin in 18 months. The Metro network, the first part of which is scheduled to open in 2037, will include three lines, which will connect 24 municipalities, employment zones, educational and medical institutions, and residential centers. In total, the project involves 300 kilometers of tunnels and 109 underground stations. The Metro will handle over 600 million trips per year, and in connection with the light rail network, more than 800 million trips annually.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 3, 2026.

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