Defense Ministry opens pre-tender stage for new IDF base in central Israel

Ofek Rahav project will consolidate four IDF bases into one large base near Ramle.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
Updated: FEBRUARY 26, 2018 00:09
New IDF base being built in Negev (photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
New IDF base being built in Negev
(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
The Defense Ministry has opened the pre-qualification stage for the Ofek Rahav project, in which four military bases in the center of the country will be consolidated into one base near Ramle.
The Preliminary Qualification phase for the project was opened by the Defense Minister on Sunday in cooperation with the IDF’s Technology and Logistics Division. It is the first step toward the publication of the tender, which will be based on cooperation with the private sector through the Public- Private Partnership method.
It will include financing, planning, construction and operation for a period of 25 years.
According to the Defense Ministry, the companies that will be permitted to participate in the tender must be able to meet threshold conditions during the Preliminary Qualification phase in terms of finance, engineering, IT and operational capabilities.
The infrastructure of the new base will incorporate elements of green construction, smart technology and be constructed according to the most advanced environmental standards.
The cost of constructing and operating the project is estimated at billions of shekels over a period of 25 years.
The “unification of the management of the four bases will lead to economic efficiency and the saving of millions of shekels a year,” the Defense Ministry said.
The new facility is expected to “significantly improve” the enlistment of troops, in part digitally, which will be able to double the number of recruits that can be signed up at every recruitment stage. The base will also be designed to absorb tens of thousands of students a year who will visit before making a decision about their preferences in military service.
Lt.-Col. Yaron Karoubi, head of the Ofek Rahav administration in the IDF’s Technology and Logistics Division, said the project “represents a major leap forward” in the infrastructure of main IDF bases, which were built during the British Mandate.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman called Ofek Rahav “a flagship project” that would free up “hundreds of dunams in the most expensive areas of demand” in the country and provide about 500 new jobs for residents of the Ramle area.