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Tel Aviv light rail progress: NTA - The Tel Aviv Mass Transit System company has announced that four groups have submitted preliminary bids to construct and operate the first line of the Tel Aviv light rail system. It is expected to cost some NIS 5 billion, and is intended to be the first of four lines in Tel Aviv. The project will be constructed under the BOT (build, operate, transfer) method, with the successful bidder constructing, operating, and maintaining the line for 32 years, before transferring the enterprise to the state. Construction is planned to start in early 2005 with operation by 2010.

The bidders are reported as:

• Africa Israel Investments, Egged Bus Cooperative, Siemens of Germany, HTM of the Netherlands, and Canada's Aecon Group.
• Canada's Bombardier with French firms Bouyges and RATP, local firms Dan Bus Company, and Properties & Construction Ltd.
• French transportation giants Alstom, and CGEA (CONNEX), Ashtrom, Housing and Construction Ltd. and Polar Investments.
• Daewoo International of Korea, Spain's Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), BVG of Germany, Granite Hacarmel, Shapir Engineering Ltd., Bateman Engineering Ltd, Gmul, and Ocif Ltd.

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