MEA LTD provides project‑based and time‑based outsourcing of Mechanical, Systems, Software, Cyber and AI engineering teams – from initial concept and requirements to design, verification, integration and real‑world implementation.

A thorough techno‑economic review can be the difference between a spectacularly successful project and one that becomes a financial sinkhole constantly at risk of shutdown. In a conversation with Yarona Marnin, (ירונה מרנין)an engineer specializing in such evaluations, we explored how careful preliminary analysis can save public projects millions of shekels.

When a state or public entity considers investing in a new technological project—an advanced production system, a complex engineering solution, or a defense technology—professional and strategic considerations are only part of the picture. They must also conduct a rigorous assessment of costs and economic feasibility. This is where the discipline of techno‑economic evaluation comes in.

This professional field is relatively unknown to the general public, yet it plays a critical role in a world where government technology investments in a given project can reach tens or even hundreds of millions of shekels. At its core, the goal seems simple: to ensure that the project’s pricing truly reflects the scope of work, materials, and risks involved. In practice, however, it is a complex process that demands deep understanding of both technology and economics.

Yarona Marnin, (ירונה מרנין)a leading expert in this domain, is an aeronautical engineer, a graduate of the Technion, and holds an MBA from the Recanati School of Business at Tel Aviv University. Since 2006, she has headed an independent engineering firm specializing in techno‑economic evaluations for complex technological projects, supporting decision‑making processes in organizations such as the Israel Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Investment Authority. Her engineering background is a central pillar of the professional perspective she brings to the field. In aeronautical engineering, every component and every calculation must be precise, and one quickly learns to deconstruct highly complex systems into smaller, manageable elements. That same analytical mindset, she notes, is essential when analyzing large‑scale budgets as well.