The city of Jerusalem has published details of the first company to receive a construction tender to order to build the new Blue Line of the city's light rail, according to a press release on Thursday.
The estimated cost of the rail is expected to be NIS 183 million in the first segment, while the tender for the second segment will cost approximately NIS 257 million. The company to receive the tender of the first section was named as Moriah - the Jerusalem Development Company.
The Blue Line is being jointly developed and promoted by the city of Jerusalem, its municipal government, the Transportation Ministry, and the Moriah company. The new line will connect the Ramot neighborhood in north Jerusalem to the Har Hotzvim industrial area, the city's downtown core, and the Talpiot neighborhood in the city's south.
The first tender will be used for construction on the Dov Yosef junction in the Gilo neighborhood via Rosemarin Street east to the Gilo junction - Hebron road, and north on the Hebron road to the Hebron-Ma'ale Darga junction
The second tender, which will be published in the coming weeks, will lead to construction on Har Hotzvim, Hartum junction and near Golda Meir Boulevard.
The total length of the Blue Line is expected to be 31 kilometers. Likewise, another branch of the Blue Line will us expected to pass through the neighborhoods of Katamonim and Emek Refaim in the German colony and from there will connect to the main route of the line to the Ramot neighborhood.
"The publication of the first tender for the Blue Line is an important step on the way to completing Jerusalem's light rail system and turning it into a large city," said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. "It also helps promote green and advanced public transportation in Israel. We will continue to develop industry in the city and improve public transportation."