Minrav, Electra, and Alstom reach NIS10b financial close for Nofit light rail
The consortium comprising Minrav, Electra, and Alstom has completed financial close for the Nofit light rail project, a major public transportation project in northern Israel.
The project will connect Haifa, Nof Hagalil, and Nazareth across a 41-kilometer route and is expected to serve approximately 100,000 passengers per day. According to the Ministry of Transport, the line is expected to operate approximately 30 trains at peak frequency of up to four minutes, with travel speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour on interurban sections.
The financial close includes approximately NIS 4.6 billion in bank financing during the construction period and approximately NIS 5 billion during the operating period. The project, which was awarded to the consortium in 2024 by Cross Israel, had been delayed by approximately one year due to financing challenges linked to the war.
Under the project structure, Electra and Minrav will lead civil engineering and infrastructure construction, Alstom will lead rail systems planning, and operations will be carried out jointly by a dedicated company of Electra Afikim, Minrav, and Alstom.
S. Horowitz represented Minrav and Electra as the civil works contractors and Alstom as the maintenance subcontractor, with the team led by Aharon Bloch, Shlomi Delgo, and Tair Sulimanov.
Meitar advised HN Light Rail Ltd (the consortium of Minrav, Electra and Alstom), including on the financing, arranged by Bank Leumi, with the team led by Jonathan Finklestone, Jason Schnier, Alon Aviram, and Daniella Silverman.
