The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Construction have recently published a call with the aim of promoting industrial technologies and construction methods and to draw foreign construction companies with industrial construction experience to Israel.  This forms part of the integrated process which the Ministries are advancing in order to increase construction output in Israel.

According to the notice of the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the international companies will carry out residential construction works as contractors or within the framework of joint ventures with Israeli companies, provided they meet the criteria which appear in the notice.  These criteria include:

  • Annual turnover of at least USD 500 million
  • Proven experience in the industrial construction, high productivity and execution of projects in other countries
  • Execution of large scale projects in recent years

By means of the call which was published the Ministry of Housing and Construction has invited international construction companies to file an offer to receive a permit to operate in Israel in the field of residential construction, as the party responsible for the overall engineering and execution of the projects, as from the planning stage and through the entire construction stage.

The Ministry of Housing and Construction will select 6 construction companies, which will be included in the register, and these will be authorized in the field of residential construction in Israel for a period of five years.

The companies will receive a permit to bring 1,000 employees experienced in construction and will be required to meet the obligatory supervisory and examination model, both with respect to targets and also with respect to ensuring the rights of those employees engaged by them.

During the period of their stay in Israel, the companies will be subject to Israeli law, including supervision by the Contractors' Registrar and the Sale Law Comptroller.

The last date for filing an offer is July 15, 2016 at 12:00 Israeli time. 

References: Ministry of Housing and Construction Website (24.3.2016) (in English). 

and additional background information (in English).