With Israeli performance contracting firms in a state of collapse, the Ministries of Finance and Construction and Housing today announced that they had selected six foreign companies to perform construction work in Israel. The six were selected out of 50 that submitted their candidacy in a call for offers by the Israeli government.
The winning companies will be entitled to build residences in Israel, and to manage residential construction projects as the party responsible for all the engineering and performance aspects of the project. They will be obligated to perform residential construction amounting to hundreds of thousands of sq.m. during their stay in Israel.
This measure will bring 6,000 more foreign workers to the Israeli building industry. Under the agreement, each company will receive a permit to employ up to 1,000 foreign workers in wet jobs (building frames and construction work). The Ministry of Construction and Housing says that this will increase the number of construction jobs in other professions, such as electricians, plumbers, plasterers, glaziers, infrastructure work, etc., in which Israelis are employed.
The foreign companies will be registered for only five years, with a possible three-year extension at the discretion of the Ministry of Housing and Construction agencies authorized for this purpose. The purpose of the measure is to supply the great demand for housing and enhance the use of industrialized construction.
"We have a great responsibility to supply housing for young couples and increase the supply of housing in general, and we are continuing to do this in any way possible," Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon said. He added, "The right way to increase the inventory of housing in Israel is by strengthening the supply chain: from diversification of raw materials to introducing new construction companies to accelerate construction in Israel. High-quality trained personnel are a critical factor in increasing the supply, thereby helping to narrow the gap in demand."
Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Galant said, "The housing market in Israel has suffered from a shortage of personnel, backwardness, and expensive resources in recent years. The foreign companies, with their expertise in special construction methods that have never been employed in Israel, will also bring technologies and expert personnel to Israel in order to shorten the duration of construction and cut costs. Today's world is flat, so adopting methods and technologies and sharing know-how with the global community can bring us to great achievements in the construction sector. Every such measure will be accompanied by close supervision of standards, quality, and the orderly and limited exit and entry of workers."
The six winning companies are:
Beijing Construction Engineering Group - a Chinese government-owned company that has been working in construction since 1953. Its main offices are in Beijing. The company's revenue is over $2 billion, with construction in China, the US, Angola, Australia, Republic of the Congo, and Mauritius.
Jiangsu First Construction - a company located in Beijing that has built residential high-rises in China and Singapore.
Everbright International Construction Engineering - a company located in Beijing with vast experience in residential construction in countries such as China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.
JiangSu Nantong No. 2 Construction Engineering (Group) a company located in Nantong, China dealing in residential construction, infrastructure construction, and the operation of cranes and lifting devices in China, Singapore, and Canada.
China Haushi Enterprise - The company, whose main offices are in the Chinese province of Guangdong, was founded in 1982. It has extensive experience in residential construction in China and Hong Kong.
Mota Engil Engenharie E Construction - Founded in 2006 and located in Porto, Portugal, the company employs thousands of workers. The company has built residential projects in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 26, 2016
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