The Texas Transportation Dept. late last month said that a $1-billion public-private partnership (P3) proposal from a Spanish-Israeli-US team to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a toll road in Harris County, the first such project type in the Houston area, is "best value," according to a March 3 announcement by the Israel-based team contractor Shikun & Binui.It is part of the Blueridge Transportation Group, a consortium vieing for the SH 288 toll lanes project that also includes Spain-based ACS Infrastructure Development Inc., InfraRed Capital Partners, ACS unit Dragados USA Inc. and Arizona-based Pulice Construction Inc.The apparent win would be

Photo Courtesy IDE Technologies Tech innovator IDE seeks to sell its stake in Israeli desalination plants, including this one in Hadera. Related Links: Desalination Advocates are Pinning Hopes on New Plant in Carlsbad Seeking to enhance its prospects in the booming global water treatment and supply market unencumbered by its Israeli ownership, leading desalination technology firm IDE Technologies Ltd. is seeking a new foreign buyer.Analysts speculate the firm could sell next year for as much as $1 billion.The sale could help IDE, owned by two Israeli industrial firms, expand more rapidly abroad at a time when domestic prospects are plateauing.The

Commonwealth Dynamics Near Ashkelon, Israel, work proceeds on new powerplant, set to open in 2016; the country's booming infrastructure market is generating a worker shortfall. Facing a construction-worker shortage, Israel will increase by 8,000 the number of Palestinian workers who will be allowed to work inside the country.Israel’s Defense Ministry said 57,000 Palestinian workers are now legally employed in Israel in the construction, agricultural and industrial sectors. But unofficial estimates put the number of additional Palestinians illegally working in Israel at around 37,000.The construction-ministry decision also will allow workers from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to work in Israel for the

IDE Technologies Ltd., a leader in the global desalination technology market that is owned by two Israeli firms, is set for spinoff next year from its Israel-based corporate owners to boost the have decided to put the company on the block. “There are only a few companies out there that have experience in the field of large desalination plants and this could make IDE very attractive to a major international infrastructure company,” says Chen Herzog, chief economist and energy and infrastructure expert in the Tel Aviv office of BDO Consulting. In order to make IDE more attractive, its current owners are

Israel Ports Development and Assets Co. Chinese contender was the low bidder on a planned Haifa private port but could not win the job because it is building another big port in Ashdod. Related Links: Europeans Avoid Big Israel Port Bids Amid Palestinian Boycott Threats Haifa Port workers call wildcat strike An all-Israeli consortium has beaten out an Israel-Belgium team to build a new private port in the northern city of Haifa.Shafir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd. and Ashtrom Properties Ltd. won the Israel Ports Development and Assets Co. contract for the new port, beating out Israel’s Shikun U’Binui Holdings

Farhi-Zafrir Architects Mixed-use commercial complex has won government approval, with $400 million earmarked for infrastructure upgrades. Farhi-Zafrir Architects No exact cost estimate has been released for the complex, set to be built in 10 years. Related Links: Booming Ridership Prompts Push for More Light Rail in Jerusalem The Israeli government has given the green light to a 731,000-sq-meter commercial development complex, one of the largest projects to be undertaken in the country's history.Located on 52 acres at Jerusalem's western entrance, the development will include nine high-rise buildings of more than 30 stories—the highest ever built in the city—as well as

AP photo Israeli shelling of Hamas targets in Gaza City on July 29 also knocked out the area's only power plant, which was serving 1.8 million people. Courtesy of Avisror Moshe and Sons, Beersheva, Israel Apartment construction in Beersheva in southern Israel has come to a virtual halt because of personnel shortages and fears of rocket attacks. Related Links: Zawya Middle East business wire: Deadly Conflict Leaves Gaza Economy in Tatters The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: Joint letter to Defense Minister-Gaza Strip civilian infrastructure is collapsing ENR: Tight Timetable and Historic Site Test Bridge

Related Links: Israel Rail Job Work Resumes After TBM Deviation is Found Booming Ridership Prompts Push for More Light Rail in Jerusalem As part of a plan to expand its 1,100-kilometer national rail network by 600 km in the next few years, Israel awarded last month its largest-ever railroad-track contract, a $400-million award, to a consortium of Germany's DB Bahnbau Gruppe and Israeli contractors Shikun U'Binui Ltd. and Lesico Ltd.The team beat out a consortium of France's TSO, Spain's Indra and Israel's T.A.N. Earthmoving Ltd.The work involves three separate new lines: the 22-km double-track line from Acre to Carmiel; the

Israel Ports Development Co. New private megaport in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, valued at $1 billion, would compete with a government-owned facility. Related Links: Israel Moves Forward on Port Expansion and Bridgebuilding Israel Weighs $3-Billion Remake of Port of Eilat Israel Boycott Fears Prompt Foreign Bidders to Abandon Ports Tender European bidders for two new privately-owned megaports in Israel have dropped out of the competition—two at the last minute—amid growing concerns about pressure on companies to boycott business activity there.The pro-Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement has been stepping up efforts in recent months to keep firms from

Airport authority will expand key international terminal, projecting rise in overseas travelers, particularly to and from Europe. The Israel Airports Authority has issued an international tender for a fourth concourse at the country’s main international airport in order to accommodate growing passenger traffic.The cost of the new addition at Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, is estimated at $190 million. IAA expects to decide on the winning bidder by mid-2014. The timetable calls for completion of the project at Terminal 3, the airport's main international hub, within three years.The terminal, which opened in 2004, was designed by Skidmore,