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.
Exclusive from Meed
-
Aramco receives interest for major gas processing plant30 September 2026
-
Libya refinery expected to be worth more than $600m30 September 2026
-
Joint venture wins $230m Ras El-Hekma buildings30 September 2026
-
Neom tenders Oxagon freight rail design30 September 2026
-
Hassan Allam wins $1bn Cairo mixed-use project deal30 September 2026
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends
Related Articles
-
Aramco receives interest for major gas processing plant30 September 2026

Saudi Aramco has received expressions of interest from contractors to participate in the main tendering exercise for a project to expand the Alhada gas processing plant, located about 85 kilometres northwest of Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
The Alhada gas processing plant expansion is critical to Aramco’s goal of increasing gas production capacity by 80% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.
Aramco issued a solicitation of interest document for the main tendering exercise in early September, with contractors submitting responses by 17 September, sources told MEED.
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work has been divided into three main packages, sources said.
The first EPC package relates to the main gas treatment facilities, primarily three processing trains, along with:
- Three acid gas removal units
- Triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration unit
- Two high-pressure and two low-pressure flares
- Two flare gas recovery units
- Two T&l flares
- Two burn pits
- A digital twin
The acid gas removal units will treat sour gas by removing hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide to produce sales gas, as well as acid-gas feed for the downstream acid gas enrichment unit and sulphur recovery unit.
The acid gas removal units will also process gas from the flare gas recovery units through a dedicated amine contactor to meet specifications for use as fuel gas. The TEG dehydration unit will then remove water from the treated gas to meet sales-gas specifications.
The project’s second EPC package covers the sulphur recovery units. The third package involves inlet channels for monoethylene glycol, as well as common utilities and supporting structures.
ALSO READ: Contractors express interest in sixth Jafurah expansion phase
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20127671/main4900.jpg -
Libya refinery expected to be worth more than $600m30 September 2026

The main contract for Libya’s planned South Refinery project is expected to be worth more than $600m, according to industry sources.
The project, located in Ubari in southern Libya, has gained momentum over the past year. The main contract is expected to be procured under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.
In March, US-based engineering company KBR was awarded a contract by Zallaf Exploration, Production & Refining of Oil & Gas Company to provide project management and technical services for the project.
Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide contract management, project management and supporting technical services throughout the project’s EPC phases.
The EPC work is expected to take 50 months, and the facility will be designed to process 30,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil.
The refinery is expected to produce:
- Propane and butane for domestic and industrial uses
- Gasoline
- Kerosene
- Diesel
- Fuel oil
In March, KBR said that the project was aligned with its “long-standing commitment to advancing vital oil and gas infrastructure in Libya”.
Libya currently operates five main refineries with a combined nameplate capacity of 380,000 b/d, but actual throughput is closer to 180,000 b/d due to poor maintenance and damage from military clashes.
In addition to the South Refinery project, Libya also plans to upgrade the Zawiya refinery and carry out projects at the Serir, Brega, Tobruk and Ras Lanuf refineries.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20124329/main.jpg -
Joint venture wins $230m Ras El-Hekma buildings30 September 2026
A joint venture of UK-based Innovo Build and Egypt’s Redcon Construction has won a contract worth about E£12bn ($230m) to carry out infrastructure and construction works for the DP03 East package of the Wadi Yemm development at Ras El-Hekma on Egypt’s North Coast.
Wadi Yemm is being developed by the UAE’s Modon Development as the first phase of its Ras El-Hekma masterplan, which will comprise 17 planned districts.
DP03 East has a built-up area of 323,000 square metres and is scheduled for completion within 21 months.
The scope of work includes more than 660 residential units – comprising standalone villas and townhouses – as well as public service areas, lakes, a commercial mall, landscaping and roadworks.
The delivery of units at Wadi Yemm is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2029.
Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coast, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.
Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project in 2024. Modon will oversee the overall development, which covers more than 170 million square metres (sq m).
Modon will develop the first phase, covering 50 million sq m. The remaining 120 million sq m will be developed in partnership with private developers, under the supervision of the recently established ADQ subsidiary Ras El-Hekma Urban Development Project Company and Modon.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123189/main.jpg -
Hassan Allam wins $1bn Cairo mixed-use project deal30 September 2026
Grova Developments, the real estate development arm of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding, has awarded Hassan Allam Construction a $1bn contract to deliver the Grova Westfields project in West Cairo.
Hassan Allam Construction’s scope of work includes a 150-key five-star hotel, branded residences, luxury villas and apartments, as well as infrastructure and landscaping works.
The project spans about 1.2 million square metres and is being developed in partnership with the Egyptian Kuwaiti Company for Real Estate Development.
Broadway Malyan has been appointed to lead the master planning and architectural design.
In October last year, Hassan Allam Construction announced that it had won a $550m contract to build another mixed-use development spanning more than 128 hectares in New Cairo.
That development comprises villas, townhouses, commercial and office space, mixed-use buildings, infrastructure and other associated facilities.
Hassan Allam Properties is co-developing the project with Grova Developments.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20123048/main.jpeg -
Neom tenders Oxagon freight rail design30 September 2026

Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
Neom has tendered a contract to prepare a concept design, feasibility study and route-alignment studies for a freight rail network connecting to the Port of Neom at Oxagon.
Neom issued the tender last week, with a submission deadline of 29 October.
Consultants expressed interest in the contract on 16 September, as MEED previously reported.
The estimated 400-kilometre (km)-plus rail line is expected to connect the Port of Neom with Saudi Arabia Railways’ (SAR) North-South Railway at the Al-Baseeta junction.
SAR’s North-South Railway is a 2,750km network built primarily to move minerals from mines in the north of the kingdom to industrial and export hubs on the Gulf coast. Its core route links the Al-Jalamid and Baitha phosphate and bauxite mines to Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam, with branch lines to Riyadh and to the Jordanian border at Al-Haditha.Al-Baseeta junction, where Oxagon’s proposed line would connect, sits on this network in Al-Jawf province, in the northwest of the country. The railway also carries passengers between Riyadh and Qurayyat, and has transported commercial freight such as sulphur and phosphoric acid.
The Port of Neom currently has no rail link to the rest of Saudi Arabia, meaning cargo landing there depends on road transport or a further sea leg to reach Riyadh, the Gulf coast or export markets beyond.
Connecting to the North-South network at Al-Baseeta would give the port direct rail access to the kingdom’s interior and, via existing branch lines, to Jordan and the Gulf coast industrial cluster around Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam.
The proposed link would also give SAR’s network a new outlet to the Red Sea. To date, the North-South Railway has focused on Gulf coast export points, but a connection to Oxagon would provide a second maritime gateway on the opposite coast, allowing mineral and freight traffic from the north of the kingdom to reach either coastline.
The latest development follows Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) naming Neom as one of six strategic ecosystems in its 2026-30 strategy.
This backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April, Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20122376/main.jpg