China moves into Israeli housing market

Israel’s largest contractor, Tidhar Group, has signed an agreement with China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC), to jointly build homes in Israel.

Under the agreement, CCSEB, a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese firm – the world’s largest contractor, with a turnover of US$160bn in 2016 – will work with Tidhar on projects already underway.

The total value of housing projects expected to be undertaken by the JV is around ILS1.5 billion (US$411 million).

Coincidentally, the announcement follows a call from the Israeli government for Chinese companies to consider doing business in the Middle Eastern country.

CCSEB’s VP, Wang Weidong, said, “We believe that the cooperation between the companies will contribute to the housing market in particular, and to the construction market in Israel in general.”

Tidha’s executive chairman Gil Geva said the agreement represented, “a very significant milestone”.

He added, “An international player on this scale does not enter Israel every day, and we regard this cooperation as a great opportunity for the entire industry and the Israeli economy. We believe that the combination of Chinese technological knowledge and power with Tidhar's engineering, planning, and construction capabilities will be a leading force in lowering construction costs and housing prices in Israel."