Israel’s largest infrastructure tender, the NIS 65 billion Metro development undertaking, was printed in November. The federal government has no reply, nevertheless, to the query what’s going to occur if a Chinese language firm submits a bid, and even wins the contract. The truth is, Israel doesn’t have a declared coverage on Chinese language involvement in infrastructure tasks, and no choices have but been made in inner discussions within the authorities.
The Metro tender requires the creation of a pool of contractors that may compete for eleven infrastructure packages, every valued at billions of shekels. Senior officers at NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit have said that no firm is barred from bidding on the premise of its nation of registration. On the identical time, there have already been cases of stress from senior US officers, together with instances through which Israel withdrew from agreements and tenders.
For instance, within the tenders for the development of the Inexperienced and Purple mild rail traces within the Dan Area, a consortium of Chinese language firms competed along with Shikun & Binui and Egged. The consortium submitted the bottom bid and was anticipated to win, however NTA’s tender committee deemed the proposal “manipulative” and disqualified it. The committee’s choice was challenged in courtroom, discovered to be skilled, and the petitions have been dismissed. On the identical time, nevertheless, intense stress was being exerted by the Trump administration, throughout his earlier time period, to not permit Chinese language firms into infrastructure tasks in Israel. The committee’s choice, even when taken on purely skilled grounds, alleviated considerations amongst political decision-makers in Israel.
But alongside that rejection, Chinese language firms are serving as subcontractors within the Inexperienced Line excavations and are developing the tunnel that runs below Tel Aviv. Different Chinese language firms took half in excavating the Gush Dan Crimson Line, on which the rolling inventory can be Chinese language.
Israel refrains from making statements
In Israel, officers chorus from declaring that there’s a basic downside with working with Chinese language firms. For instance, final yr the China Harbour Engineering Firm (CHEC) was disqualified on safety grounds from the tender to construct the fuels port in Haifa. The corporate petitioned the courtroom, arguing that “a call to limit the exercise of Chinese language firms needs to be made by the federal government of Israel in a clear method, and definitely not on the premise of an advert hoc suggestion by the Nationwide Safety Council.” The state’s consultant responded that, “This isn’t a blanket disqualification; the disqualification pertains to the precise tender, and any future case can be examined on its deserves.” In the end, the petition was dismissed by consent.
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One other instance is Jerusalem’s mild rail Blue Line. Dan and Danya Cebus gained the tender along with Polish rail firm PESA. PESA withdrew from the undertaking through the warfare, forcing the Israeli consortium to search out an alternate rolling inventory provider. It turned to China Railway Rolling Inventory Company (CRRC), which additionally provides the railcars for the Gush Dan Crimson Line. However when the corporate sought approval for the contract from the accountant basic on the Ministry of Finance, overt US intervention in opposition to the transfer started.
On the time, market sources claimed that events in search of to push different firms into the tender had tried to scuttle the deal by leveraging ties with the US administration. In any case, following robust US opposition, the settlement was not signed. It was in the end agreed that the railcars can be equipped by CRRC, however from its plant in Australia, leading to a value improve of about 20%. It’s price remarking that whereas the state refused to signal an settlement for the availability of railcars for Jerusalem’s Blue Line, it was concurrently conducting negotiations with the exact same firm for extra railcars for Tel Aviv’s Crimson Line.
In 2015, Chinese language firm SIPG gained the tender to function the Haifa Bayport Terminal as the only bidder. On the time, some claimed the port can be shut down throughout an emergency, however in truth the port continued to function usually through the warfare and even below missile hearth. Within the case of the Ashdod Port tender, for instance, there have been calls to not invite SIPG – represented by an Israeli firm – to discussions through which they is perhaps uncovered to security-related materials. These claims have been firmly rejected by folks inside transport trade and the federal government. In the end, Israel’s Noy Fund acquired a 25% stake in Haifa Bayport for NIS 600 million. SIPG’s willingness to scale back its share and herald an Israeli associate has usually been interpreted as an effort to shed the “Chinese language port” label that had caught to it.
China’s workaround strategy
These are simply examples of the incoherence in dealings with Chinese language firms working in Israel. “Israel has no real interest in saying that Chinese language firms are unwelcome right here, and it does have an curiosity in involving them in tenders,” says Galia Lavi, deputy director of the Glazer Israel-China Coverage Heart on the Institute for Nationwide Safety Research (INSS). “On the identical time, as a result of warfare, fewer tenders have been issued, so accordingly they submitted fewer bids, and in addition promoted themselves much less due to journey warnings in opposition to coming right here. “
A research performed by Lavi, which examined 46 tenders price NIS 100 million or extra issued between 2001 and June 2022, reveals that 2019 was the height for Chinese language firms’ involvement in Israel, after they gained each tender for which they bid (4 in complete). The yr 2020 was a turning level, throughout which Chinese language firms gained solely one of many 4 tenders they bid for. The information additionally present that Chinese language firms have participated in and gained extra Israeli tenders than bidders from another overseas nation.
“Their involvement declined due to Covid, and the decline can be attributed to the Advisory Committee for Evaluating Nationwide Safety Elements of Overseas Investments, which started work in 2020,” Lavi says. “The Chinese language firms understood which approach the wind was blowing, even when issues weren’t stated out loud, and so they made fewer bids, as a result of it prices a number of million {dollars} to compete for every tender.
“Chinese language firms are taking a workaround strategy. They perceive that the possibilities of the state permitting them to win tenders for giant, heavy infrastructure tasks are low, in order that they’re positioning themselves as subcontractors as an alternative. For instance, within the Inexperienced Line development undertaking, they work below the developer firms; the identical applies to railcars for Jerusalem’s Blue Line and to development of energy stations within the north. Chinese language firms have downshifted, and utterly opposite to Israel’s pursuits they’re bidding on fewer tenders and preferring to work as subcontractors for the successful bidders. Israel loses out twice: first, as a result of it has much less oversight, and second, as a result of it’s dearer.
“For my part, Chinese language firms shouldn’t be restricted from digging a tunnel and constructing infrastructure. All the things is completed below Israeli supervision, and I do not see any obstacle except it’s a matter of delicate websites. Development work doesn’t grant management over the property. I additionally do not see overseas firms lining as much as work right here.”
European firms have disappeared
Getting again to the metro tenders: the Israeli market, as soon as characterised by European firms competing amongst themselves for tasks in Israel, has modified in current a long time with the entry of Chinese language firms; the aggressive area widened and European firms usually discovered themselves unable to compete with the decrease costs supplied by the Chinese language. These days, nevertheless, it’s more durable for European firms to function in Israel due to stress from pro-Palestinian organizations, committees, politicians, and buyers.
The federal government is making an attempt to increase the shrinking market and is making an attempt to draw firms that haven’t but entered Israel. For instance, NTA has already despatched a number of delegations to South Korea and India to attempt to curiosity firms in tasks right here – mainly the Metro.
Printed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on December 15, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
