This morning, a petition was submitted to the District Court in Jerusalem requesting the reports of the control company appointed by the government ministries for the NTA work in the metro project. The petition was made by the association Success, after they were refused access to the reports by the Ministry of Transportation, following a request made under the Freedom of Information Law.
The court has been asked to order the Ministry of Transportation to provide answers to the request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Law, and to cover the legal costs. The original request was made to the ministry more than six months ago, but the requested copies of the reports have not been provided, despite the legally required response time having passed.
The Ministry of Transportation has a consistent track record of refusing to hand over reports. The only reason they provided reports on the light rail projects in Gush Dan was due to similar petitions under the Freedom of Information Law. The reports from the control company are crucial for understanding the progress, risk management, and schedules of the projects.
The control company is appointed by the Ministries of Transportation and Finance, and in the case of the Red Line, they warned of delays in the opening of the line, which were initially denied by NATA but later turned out to be true. Therefore, making these reports public would greatly enhance understanding of the progress of the projects, especially considering it is the most expensive and complex project ever undertaken in Israel, with an investment of NIS 150 billion.
The metro project, with an estimated budget of 150 billion shekels, is the largest infrastructure project in Israel. It is expected to provide significant economic benefits, including reducing travel time and increasing real estate value. It will consist of three underground train lines, 24 local authorities, and 109 stations. The urban landscape surrounding the stations will undergo significant changes.
Elad Man, the legal advisor of the Success Association, criticized the Ministry of Transportation’s handling of freedom of information requests, stating that they often prefer not to address them unless compelled by court petitions or warnings. This approach inevitably wastes taxpayer money, as the information could and should have been provided earlier. The Success Association and the Movement for Freedom of Information have pursued legal action against the Ministry of Transportation for their refusal to comply with information requests in the past.
Despite initial concerns that the information could be used against the state in lawsuits or compromise sensitive business information, the Ministry of Transportation eventually published 18 out of 19 reports, with some sections redacted for the same reasons. This disclosure, such as the list of permits issued for the use of Chakalka and NTAZIM, led to changes in the Ministry’s procedures.
The Ministry of Transportation has not responded to the requests for comments.
This morning a petition was submitted to the District Court in Jerusalem, to receive the reports of the control company appointed by the government ministries for the NTA work in the metro project. This was after a request by Globes in the association Success, they submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Law to receive the reports from the Ministry of Transportation, and were refused.
The court was asked to order answers to requests according to the Freedom of Information Law and to oblige the Ministry of Transportation with legal costs. The request to the Ministry of Transportation was submitted more than six months ago, last December, and in response to the request, the long list of reports written so far on the project was sent, but since then the requested copies of the reports have not been provided, even though the time prescribed by law for providing a response and extensions for this has passed.
The Ministry of Transportation’s refusal to hand over the reports is consistent, so only following similar petitions did the Ministry of Transportation have the right to hand over, according to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, 17 out of 18 reports written on the light rail projects in Gush Dan. The reports of the control company are essential for understanding the progress of the projects, risk management, as well as schedules for their execution.
The control company is appointed by the Ministries of Transportation and Finance, and in the case of the Red Line, for example, such a company warned for many months about delays in the opening of the line – which NATA denied – and in the end they turned out to be true. Therefore, disclosure of these reports to the public has the potential to deeply understand the The progress of the projects. This is even more true for the most expensive and complex project ever carried out in Israel with an unprecedented investment of NIS 150 billion. However, as mentioned, the Ministry of Transportation refuses to publish it.
The largest project of the Ministry of Transport
The metro project, whose budget estimate is 150 billion shekels, is the largest and most significant infrastructure project facing the State of Israel. Its economic economic benefit is estimated at approximately NIS 33 billion, which will be manifested by reducing the loss of time on the way to detail and moving the goods, a significant real estate benefit, increased agglomeration and urban and urban renewal.
It includes three underground trains that will travel under 24 local authorities and 109 stations will be built within it, the urban environment around them will be fundamentally changed, according to the promises and plans. The system is supposed to be opened gradually in the first phase in 2034 and in the second phase in 2037 and it is possible that the reports also concern the critical phases for the realization of the project on the dates and in the budget established by law.
Attorney Elad Man, the legal advisor of the Success Association, said that “the Ministry of Transportation has made it a habit that should not be accepted in connection with freedom of information requests – it usually prefers not to deal with them at all and only petitions to the court, or warnings before they are submitted, convince those concerned to fill out the their legal duty. It is to be regretted that this approach has become an unwelcome routine, and at the same time puzzling, as far as it is not a bug, whether it is actually a feature that allows information of great public value to be withheld from the public.”
According to him, “it should also be regretted that this pattern of action ultimately results in the ministry charging money from the taxpayer’s pocket, without any real need, because an answer and the information could and should have been provided earlier.”
Many legal proceedings have been conducted in recent years with the Ministry of Transportation on these issues on behalf of the Success Association as well as on behalf of the Movement for Freedom of Information after the Ministry refused to provide the information as required by law. At first the Ministry of Transportation claimed that the information could be used by contractors in lawsuits against the state and reveal business information, but in the end they published 18 out of 19 reports even if some of them had blackouts that arose from the same reasons.
Among other things, the list of those who received permits to travel with Chakalka and to travel in NTAZIM were published – a disclosure that caused a change in the procedures of the Ministry of Transportation.
The Ministry of Transportation did not respond.