Foreign Construction Firms Seek Contracts for Israeli Projects

Fifty construction firms from foreign countries have responded to a Request for Proposal issued by the Housing Ministry to undertake building projects in Israel, the ministry announced Monday. Among the firms were several large multinational companies, as well as companies from China, Spain, Greece, Vietnam, Ukraine, Turkey, Portugal and others.

Under the program, foreign construction firms will be allowed to build specific projects in Israel. The companies will be given permits to operate in Israel for five years. Currently, foreign construction firms that want to build in the country must compete in tenders against Israeli companies. Under the new program, the Housing Ministry will choose foreign companies to build specific projects.

The program is being instituted as part of efforts to increase the number of homes available for sale, thus relieving price pressures due to more demand than supply in the housing market. Six companies will be chosen as eligible to build projects and will be notified when their term comes up.

Housing Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that “in recent years, Israel’s housing market has suffered from a lack of personnel, a slow pace of construction, and expensive resources. Foreign companies, which utilize unique methods of building that are not generally used in Israel, will bring with them technology and manpower that will significantly shorten the period of construction of projects, as well as lower costs.”