In a special report, Comptroller Englman warns of a long series of defects in the largest infrastructure project in Israel – the underground railway in Gush Dan which is due to serve approximately three million residents: "The audit report is a warning sign"
- The Metro in Gush Dan – a special report
Time equals money – and when it is spent on roads this means a lot of money: Traffic congestions in Gush Dan have already cost the economy more than NIS 10 billion a year – and the situation is getting worse: In 2018 Israelis spent 143 million hours on the road – time that is estimated at about NIS 10 billion. In 2040, if no improvement will be made by then, we are liable to waste 456 million hours on the roads at a cost of approximately NIS 25 billion.
The way out of the traffic jams passes through the Metro, the largest infrastructure project in Israel: A genuine underground railway that can serve more than three million residents. The Metro is due to operate with three lines, cross 109 stations in 24 local authorities along 150 kilometers of underground tracks and links with other means of transport.
21 years to reach the target
However, in the special report he published, the State Comptroller found that five years after the government determined that the Metro would be a national project – there is still a long way to go to reach the target.
The largest infrastructure project in Israel, and one of the largest in the world, was launched a decade ago, when the strategic plan for transport in Gush Dan was formulated. In 2021, as aforesaid, the government decided to advance the Metro project – but it is anticipated to start to operate only in 2037, namely, 21 years after the project was launched – naturally, on the assumption that there will be no further delays.
"The challenges in the project are enormous from many aspects: Costs amounting to tens of billions of shekels, the movement of thousands of heavy trucks through the heart of Gush Dan, the removal of millions of cubic meters of soil from digging 300 kilometers of tunnels, and many other challenges", said the State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Matanyahu Englman, upon publication of the special report. "The delays in the completion of the Metro are causing tens of billions of shekels worth of damage to Israeli citizens. Defects in proper preparation are liable to lead to a delay in the completion of the project, disrupt daily life for millions of citizens and significantly raise costs. The audit report is a warning sign and indicates severe defects even now".
There is no coordinating body to lead the project
One of the main failures indicated by the Comptroller is the absence of a coordinating body to lead the complex and large-scale project until its completion: "The Metro Authority was established in 2021, and it still has only five employees. The Director of the Metro Authority, who was only recruited by the Ministry of Transport three years after the date the Headhunting Committee was formed, held his office for only a few months. This causes significant damage to the management of the project. How can a project whose legally approved cost, as of 2025, totals NIS 177 billion (after indexation) operate without a director of the Metro Authority?"
The Comptroller found additional defects that are liable to delay the Metro:
- The Metro Authority will need to hire about 16,000 foreign workers, including 2,000 international professionals. NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. and the Ministry of Transport have not yet completed the preparations for this.
- The necessary tunnel boring machines are not available in Israel, there is also a significant shortage of special and designated engineering equipment for underground works – but the Israeli economy is still not ready to purchase them.
- During the construction works, the already congested roads along the Metro tracks will be even more congested by thousands of trucks, which are expected to make about 42,000 journeys a month. Despite this, the Ministry of Transport has still not set up a traffic management center nor appointed a body to regulate the traffic lights along the Metro outline.
- Contrary to the State Comptroller's recommendations, the Ministries of Transport and Finance have not yet signed a framework agreement with NTA – thus the company has already been operating for 29 years without any agreement regulating its work.
"Substantial financial risks"
And there are significant financial implications to all of the above. The government has estimated that the construction of the Metro will cost approximately NIS 150 billion – about one third of the state's total investment in infrastructures in the coming years. Due to indexation, the sum is expected to rise to approximately NIS 177 billion, and there are preliminary estimates whereby it will rise to about a further NIS 10 billion at least, if no planning adjustments are made.
One half of this sum will come from the State Budget. The remainder is due to be financed by the public – for example, through congestion and improvement charges. The Comptroller warns that the scope of the revenue and cash flows for the project are facing uncertainty. Years will pass until the entire sum required is collected from the public.
"The audit raised three substantive financial risks at this time", emphasized Comptroller Englman. "Gaps in the scope of billions of shekels in the project estimate as opposed to the approved budget; an emerging reduction in the designated revenue from improvement taxes and other revenues constituting 50% of the project's sources; gaps in government funding for the interim period until the collection of the designated revenues in the project in a scope of tens of billions of shekels, while the Ministry of Finance has not yet presented the government with an outline in the matter".
"The Metro project is a national project and therefore it demands the special attention of all the relevant government ministries. The project also entails maximum coordination and resource mobilization and managerial attention from a variety of bodies in the economy. The Minister of Transport, Minister of Finance and the responsible bodies in the project must immediately rectify the defects and streamline the work on the Metro project, for the residents of Gush Dan and all the citizens of Israel".
