On 4th July 2023, Israeli project promoter Metropolitan Mass Transit System (NTA) signed a financing agreement worth €1 billion with HSBC and Bank Leumi Le Israel for the construction of the Purple Line on the light rail transit (LRT) network in Tel Aviv. With that, construction works on the line are expected to begin shortly. The 29 km line is to be built by a joint venture (JV) of local construction company Shafir and Spanish rolling stock, signalling, power, and communications supplier CAF under a public-private partnership (PPP) contract which includes 25 years of maintenance. The line is scheduled to be opened in 2027.
