EPC teams start forming for $22bn Dubai tunnels

24 September 2024

Register for MEED's 14-day trial access 

Some prequalified engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies for the contracts to develop and operate various packages of the $22bn Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) project have started forming teams in anticipation of the next stage of the tendering process.    

In August, Dubai Municipality prequalified 21 companies and consortiums that can bid for three packages known as J1, J2 and W, and 19 for a fourth package known as J3, of the six-package project.

Some companies are in the process of finalising their partners, while at least one has said it does not intend to tap a partner.

While the country of origin is expected to play a role in the formation of teams, it is expected that the complementarity of the companies' expertise and resources will be crucial in the selection process.  

The client and its advisers have opted to prequalify EPC contractors ahead of investors in a departure from the classic public-private partnership (PPP) procurement process.

"The idea is to issue the technical information pack to the prequalified EPC contractors before the prequalification process for investors starts, allowing EPC contractors time to undertake the design process," a source familiar with the project recently told MEED.

He added: "These designs should be ready once Dubai Municipality completes the prequalification process for investors, saving roughly three months compared to the usual route, where the prequalification processes for developers and EPC contractors are done simultaneously."

The staggered prequalification process is expected to help ensure the request for proposals process takes about six months rather than the typical nine months.

Six packages

Under the current plan, the $22bn DSST project is broken down into six packages, which will be tendered as PPP packages with concession periods lasting between 25 and 35 years.

The first package, J1, comprises Jebel Ali tunnels (North) and terminal pump stations (TPS). The tunnels will extend approximately 42 kilometres, and the links will extend 10 kilometres (km). 

The second package, J2, covers the southern section of the Jebel Ali tunnels, which will extend 16km and have a link stretching 46km.

W for Warsan, the third package, comprises 16km of tunnels, TPS and 46km of links.

J3, the fourth package, comprises 129km of links.

J1, J2 and W will be procured under a design-build-finance-operate-maintain model with a concession period of 25-35 years.

J3 will be procured under a design-build-finance model with a concession period of 25-35 years. Once completed, Dubai Municipality will operate them, unlike the first three packages, which are planned to be operated and maintained by the winning PPP contractors.

J1, J2, W and J3 will comprise the deep sewerage tunnels, links and TPS (DLT) components of the overall project.

The project’s remaining two packages entail the expansion and upgrade of the Jebel Ali and Warsan sewage treatment plants (STPs), and will be procured in a process separate from the four DSST-DLT components.

Prequalified EPC contractors  

The prequalified EPC companies for packages J1, J2 and W are:

  • Acciona Construccion (Spain) – Dubai branch
  • Besix Construct (Belgium)
  • China Harbour Engineering (China)
  • China Railway Group (China)
  • China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
  • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea) 
  • Dogus Insaat VE Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Turkiye) – Abu Dhabi
  • FCC Construcccion (Spain)
  • Archirodon Construction (Overseas) Company (Greece) / BESSAC (France)
  • China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation – Dubai Branch / Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company (STEC) / China Railway 14th Bureau Group Corporation 
  • Gulermak Agir Sanayi Insaat (Turkiye) / DETech Contracting (local)
  • National Marine Dredging Company (local) / Afcons Infrastructure (India) / ITD Cementation India 
  • The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company, Egypt) / Darwish Engineering Emirates (local) / AqualiaMACE Contracting Operation & General Maintenance (local)
  • Larsen & Toubro (India)
  • Porr (Austria)
  • Power Construction Corporation of China (China) – Dubai branch
  • Samsung C&T Corporation (South Korea) – Dubai Branch
  • SK Ecoplant (South Korea) 
  • Strabag Dubai (Austria)
  • The Petroleum Projects & Technical Consultation Company (Petrojet) – Egypt
  • Webuild  (Italy)

EPC companies that have been prequalified for package J3 are:

  • Acciona Construccion (Spain) – Dubai branch
  • Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting (Kuwait) 
  • China Railway Group (China)
  • China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
  • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
  • DETech Contracting
  • Archirodon Construction (Overseas) Company (Greece) / BESSAC (France)
  • China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (China) – Dubai branch / Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Company (STEC) / China Railway 14th Bureau Group Corporation 
  • Gulermak Agir Sanayi Insaat (Turkiye) / DETech Contracting (local) 
  • International Foundation Group (IFG, local) / General Construction Company (local)
  • Nael Construction & Contracting (UAE) / Concord for Engineering & Contracting (Egypt) – Dubai branch
  • National Marine Dredging Company (local) / Afcons Infrastructure (India) / ITD Cementation India 
  • Mapa Insaat Ve Ticaret (Turkiye)
  • Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons (Kuwait)
  • Porr (Austria)
  • Power Construction Corporation of China – Dubai branch
  • Strabag (Austria)
  • Tecton Engineering & Construction (local)
  • The Petroleum Projects & Technical Consultation Company – Petrojet (Egypt)
Market-sounding

Dubai Municipality is expected to hold a market-sounding event for investors, MEED reported in early September .

The event is set to take place during the first week of October, a few weeks before interested investors submit their statements of qualifications (SOQ) for the projects' various packages.

MEED previously reported that the client had extended the SOQ submission deadline from 5 September to 21 October.

 Gravity system project

The DSST project aims to convert Dubai’s existing sewerage system from a pumped system to a gravity system by decommissioning the existing pump stations and providing “a sustainable, innovative, reliable service for future generations”.

Dubai currently has two major sewerage catchments. The first in Deira is Warsan, where the Warsan STP treats the flow.

The second catchment is in Bur Dubai, where the wastewater is treated at the Jebel Ali STP.

According to a source close to the project, the DSST will replace 120 pump stations, saving approximately 100 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12590337/main0016.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo
Related Articles
  • Kuwait selects firms for power works at housing projects

    20 October 2026

     

    Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has appointed contractors for works covering the supply and installation of 132kV underground cables at South Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City.

    The contracts relate to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages for works for 28 main 132/11kV substations across four phases.

    According to sources, Egypt’s Elsewedy Cables has won contracts for phases 1 and 3, while China’s TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Company has won contracts for phases 2 and 4 of the development.

    In April, MEED reported that PAHW had received at least five bids for each of the first two packages, with Elsewedy and TBEA offering $44m and $40.5m, respectively.

    The first contract (phase 1) covers seven substations in zones N9, N7 and N5. The second contract (phase 2) covers seven substations in zones N10 and N5.

    PAHW issued two further 132kV underground cable tenders for the South Sabah Al-Ahmad residential development at the end of May, as reported by MEED.

    This included a contract (phase 3) covering the supply, extension and maintenance of 132kV underground cables linked to seven substations serving the N5, N6, N8 and N10 districts. Egytech Cables, a subsidiary of Elsewedy, submitted an offer of $39.95m, the lowest of four bids.

    The other contract (phase 4) covers the supply, extension and maintenance of 132kV underground cables feeding eight main transformer substations serving the N1, N6 and N11 districts. 

    MEED reported in July that TBEA had submitted an offer of $44.06m for the contract.

    South Saad Al-Abdullah 

    Separately, PAHW has appointed contractors for power transmission works at the South Saad Al-Abdullah residential development.

    The local firm Sayed Hamid Behbehani & Sons has won a contract to supply, install and maintain 10 main 132/11kV transformer substations for the development’s third phase. 

    Another local firm, Al-Ahleia Switchgear, has won a contract to supply, install and maintain 10 main 132/11kV transformer substations for the project’s fourth phase. 

    As reported in August, the contractors submitted bids of $104.2m and $103.3m, respectively.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20761431/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Taqa moves forward with Mirfa-Liwa scheme

    20 October 2026

     

    Taqa Transmission and Taqa Distribution are advancing a major water transmission and distribution scheme serving Mirfa, Madinat Zayed and Liwa in Abu Dhabi, sources told MEED.

    The project, originally estimated to cost $775m, has been in procurement for several years. According to sources, a request for proposals has been issued, with bids due on 5 January 2027.

    The initial submission deadline was 11 November, before it was extended.

    The project was previously tendered in December 2024, with contractors submitting bids for transmission and distribution packages in January 2025.  As of August, the bids were still under evaluation. It is unclear whether the latest tender represents a revised procurement process for the same scheme.

    The project comprises a water transmission system from Mirfa, alongside distribution networks serving farms and settlements in the western region.

    According to details seen by MEED, the latest scope includes a pumping station at Mirfa with a capacity of 128 million imperial gallons a day, about 125 kilometres of transmission pipelines to Muzairah, with branches to Madinat Zayed and Liwa Summit, and storage tanks at the three locations.

    The distribution network is divided into four geographic clusters covering Liwa East, Liwa West, Madinat Zayed and Seih Al-Kheir. The works include associated pipelines, pumping stations and storage facilities.

    The earlier procurement was structured as an engineering, procurement and construction scheme, divided between transmission and distribution works.

    As MEED understands, the latest tender is being pursued under a design, build and operate model, which extends the contractor’s responsibilities to operating the infrastructure after construction.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20758109/main2934.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Contractors prepare prices for Adnoc Onshore field facilities project

    20 October 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing commercial bids for Adnoc Onshore’s project to build on-plot and off-plot facilities at the Rumaitha and Shanayel fields in Abu Dhabi’s North East Bab oil field cluster.

    The project will enhance and sustain crude output at Rumaitha and Shanayel at 45,000 barrels a day (b/d), supporting Adnoc’s Accelerated Integrated Programme 5 (AiP5) drive to lift capacity to 5 million b/d by 2027.

    Adnoc Onshore issued the main tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on 19 June. Contractors submitted technical bids by 5 August, sources told MEED.

    The on-plot works include adding a crude processing train, produced water treatment and reinjection systems, surface water pumps, and multi-stage gas compression and dehydration units. Works also include utilities, safety and control systems, modifications to existing Phase 1 units and 220kV power infrastructure.

    The off-plot scope includes installing and tying in new gas-lifted producer and water-injection wells, as well as building and expanding wellhead clusters. Contractors will also lay crude-gathering, water-injection and gas-export pipelines connecting to the Adnoc Gas network and extend 33kV overhead power lines across the fields.

    The tender follows Adnoc Onshore’s shift in strategy for the wider North East Bab development – comprising the Al-Nouf, Rumaitha and Shanayel fields – after scrapping an earlier engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) approach. MEED reported in December that the operator had cancelled an off-plot EPCm contract awarded to China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) in October 2024. Adnoc later cancelled a separate on-plot EPCm tender that it received bids for in the second quarter of 2025.

    In addition to the North East cluster, Adnoc Onshore continues to make progress on EPC works for another similar project to build off-plot facilities at the South East cluster of oil fields in Abu Dhabi, which is also integral to Adnoc Group’s AiP5 campaign.

    The South East cluster comprises the Asab, Mender, Qusahwira, Sahil and Shah fields and accounts for approximately a third of Adnoc Onshore’s oil production capacity.

    MEED previously reported that Adnoc Onshore awarded CPECC the EPC works for the South East off-plot facilities project, with the contract value estimated at around $1.2bn.

    CPECC is also performing EPC works on the South East on-plot facilities project in a consortium with Greece-headquartered Archirodon. Adnoc Onshore awarded an estimated $1.5bn contract for that project to the consortium in December 2024, with EPC works scheduled for completion in 2027.

    ALSO READ: Adnoc Onshore seeks bids for Bu Hasa field EOR project

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20757699/main.jpeg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Lowest bidder emerges for Kuwait Airport Terminal 2 operations

    19 October 2026

     

    Ireland’s DAA International has emerged as the lowest bidder for the contract to operate, manage and maintain the new passenger Terminal 2 (T2) at Kuwait International airport, submitting an offer of KD419m ($1.35bn).

    Official price-opening records released by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders on behalf of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation show three international airport operators submitted commercial bids for the tender.

    DAA International’s proposal undercut its nearest rival by about 45%. Turkiye’s TAV Airports Holding submitted the second-lowest offer at KD764.15m ($2.46bn), while South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corporation bid KD959.48m ($3.1bn).

    All three proposals were marked as approved in the tender committee’s price disclosure.

    The contract entails the operation, management and improvement of training, maintenance and development services across Terminal 2 and its associated aircraft parking aprons.

    The remit also includes corporate management of centralised operation and maintenance across the broader Kuwait International airport model, centralising operational procedures, systems integration and service delivery across the aviation hub.

    Technical documents indicate the winning operator will oversee facility management, terminal operational readiness, passenger processing systems, apron operations and staff development programmes before and after the complex’s commercial launch.

    MEED reported in June 2023 that six airport operators had initially been invited to bid for the Terminal 2 operating concession.

    Terminal 2 is the centrepiece of Kuwait International airport’s multibillion-dollar expansion, aimed at boosting total handling capacity to 25 million passengers a year.

    Turkish contractor Limak Insaat is executing the main terminal building under an estimated $4.34bn contract awarded in 2016.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20747061/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Dubai tenders Al-Maktoum-Dubai South drainage scheme

    19 October 2026

    Dubai Municipality has invited contractors to submit bids by 5 November for the construction of a stormwater drainage system connecting Al-Maktoum Airport and Dubai South

    The project, designated TF-06-C2, involves approximately 20 kilometres of pipelines with diameters ranging from 400mm to 3,000mm. The works will use deep trenchless construction and conventional open-cut methods. 

    The scheme is one of four projects, for which a project management consultancy (PMC) tender was issued earlier this month.

    The tender for TF-06-S1 Supervision of Stormwater Drainage System Projects – Package 4 was issued on 6 October.

    The consultancy covers the following projects:

    • TF-06-C1: Construction of a stormwater pond connecting Al-Maktoum Airport and Dubai South
    • TF-06-C2: Construction of a stormwater drainage system connecting Al-Maktoum Airport and Dubai South
    • TF-07-C1: Construction of a stormwater drainage system on Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Road connecting developers
    • TF-24-C1: Connecting developers’ areas to the stormwater networks in Dubailand 

    The projects are part of Dubai Municipality’s wider Tasreef programme, intended to increase Dubai’s rainwater drainage capacity by 700% by 2033 and provide capacity for the emirate’s needs for the next 100 years.

    Investment in the UAE water sector has been dominated by stormwater drainage and network resilience schemes this year, as Dubai Municipality advances procurement under its AED30bn ($8.1bn) Tasreef programme.

    TF-07-C1

    As previously reported, contractors are preparing to submit bids on 22 October for the main construction contract for TF-07-C1.

    The project covers more than 100 million square metres between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, and from Expo Road to Dubailand.

    It will provide stormwater infrastructure and service connections for more than 20 private developers and Al-Yalayis 5, as well as supporting major roads in the Jebel Ali area. The construction scope includes a major gravity drainage system with pipeline diameters of up to 3,000mm.

    TF-24-C1

    Bids for TF-24-C1 were submitted on 1 October, with Nael Construction & Contracting, Al-Nasr Contracting Company and Al-Kharafi & Sons understood to be among the bidders. 

    The project will connect developers’ areas in Dubailand to the stormwater network. It includes 18km of stormwater drainage pipelines with diameters of up to 1,800mm and 3.5km of gravity sewer pipelines with diameters of up to 1,000mm.

    As MEED understands, the main contract tender for TF-06-C1 has yet to be released.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20746611/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall