Related Articles

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  Neom tenders desalination EPC package

  22 April 2024

  

   

  Saudi Arabian Neom's utility subsidiary, Enowa, has issued the request for proposals (RFP) for a contract to build a new seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant with a capacity of 150 million litres a day (MLD).

  Enowa expects to receive proposals from qualified engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies by 22 May.

  According to a source close to the project, the deadline is likely to be extended. 

  The 150MLD project, which is equivalent to a capacity of 150,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), was previously known as the Moonlight desalination plant.

  It will be located adjacent to the existing 125MLD desalination plant at Duba on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. 

  MEED previously reported that Neom had received prequalification applications from interested companies in December.

  The project is expected to take 12 months to complete.

  Neom said the plant will treat seawater with a total dissolved solids measure of up to 42,000 milligrams a litre.

  The project scope includes:

  • offshore intake towers and pipelines 
  • seawater intake and screening station
  • feed intake chlorination system
  • media filtration or MF/UF membranes
  • reverse osmosis first pass
  • reverse osmosis second pass
  • post-treatment and stabilisation
  • automated clean-in-place system
  • waste treatment unit
  • reject disposal and outfall

  The selected contractor is also expected to build the necessary storage tanks for the desalinated and stabilised water, an operator control room, programmable logic control and Scada systems, among others.

  In addition, the plant must to comply with Neom’s cybersecurity requirements.

  To meet the short timeline, Neom has asked contractors to confirm whether they already possess a design of an existing plant that can be used for the project.

  This project’s capacity is smaller than the zero liquid discharge (ZLD) desalination plant being developed by Japan’s Itochu and France’s Veolia at Neom’s Oxagon industrial city.

  The ZLD plant’s first phase is expected to have a capacity of 500,000 cm/d.

  A consortium of Enowa, Itochu and Veolia signed the joint development for the ZLD desalination plant in December 2022.

  The planned ZLD plant will be powered 100% by renewable energy and is understood to require an investment of between $1.5bn and $2bn. It is expected to meet about 30% of Neom’s projected total water demand once complete.

  

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  MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
  > BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
  > UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
  > DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
  > POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
  > WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
  > TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects

   

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Mitsubishi Power wins Al Zour South work

  22 April 2024

  Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEWRE) has awarded a consortium led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Power, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a contract to rehabilitate eight units at the Al Zour South power station.

  The project will include the rehabilitation and upgrade of eight steam generator boilers, replacement of the control system for the boilers, steam turbines and auxiliaries.

  Mitsubishi Power has partnered with the local contracting firm Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding (Heisco) to implement the contract.

  The work will recover steam generation capacity, increase reliability of the grid and support Kuwait’s growing power needs, according to Mitsubishi Power.

  “By replacing deteriorated boiler components with new and upgraded components and [undertaking] boiler operation optimisation with upgrading control systems and combustion systems, it is anticipated that this large-scale rehabilitation project will increase the boiler efficiency and lead to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” the firm said.

  The 2,400MW Al Zour South power station was built in mid-1980s.

  Under the new contract, Mitsubishi Power will provide services for the rehabilitation of the steam units, which is aimed at improving operational reliability by overhauling deteriorated components and integrating a new distributed control system.

  Mitsubishi Power is also providing advanced environmental improvement technology solutions aimed at reducing nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions.

  This aligns with the Kuwait Environmental Public Authority's goals for emission reduction in the country.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11701892/main0422.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Sports ministry tenders Riyadh stadium contract

  22 April 2024

  

   

  Register for MEED's guest programme 

  Saudi Arabia's Sports Ministry has tendered a contract for the expansion of the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. 

  It issued the request for proposals on 8 April and expects to recieve bids on 14 June.

  The stadium's current capacity is 22,188 seats and the expansion aims to increase the seating capacity to approximately 45,000. The expansion project comes as the kingdom prepares to host the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in 2027.

  Capital projects

  The project is part of the kingdom's plan to build sports stadiums under its SR10.1bn ($2.7bn) capital projects programme.

  MEED previously reported that the Sports Ministry had tendered an early works contract for the expansion of the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam. The scope of the contract includes the decommissioning, demolition, bulk excavation, relocation and setting up of related facilities for the stadium.

  In July last year, the ministry invited construction companies to submit prequalification documents for the main construction contracts for the schemes that are part of the capital projects programme.

  The projects, which are set for completion before the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, include:

  • Increasing the capacity of King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh to 92,000 seats
  • Expanding the seating capacity of Riyadh’s Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium to 45,000
  • Increasing the capacity of Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium to 30,000 seats
  • An increase in seating capacity for the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khair to 45,000
  • The construction of a sustainable New Riyadh Stadium in the north of Riyadh with 45,000 seats

  The next main element of the ministry’s projects programme is the construction of 30 new training grounds and facilities in proximity to the stadiums that will be used for the 2027 competition.

  Construction on the schemes is expected to start in July 2024 and be completed by December 2025. A total of 18 facilities will be ready in time for the 2026 AFC Women’s Cup.

  

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  MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
  > BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
  > UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
  > DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
  > POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
  > WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
  > TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects

   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11701535/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  PIF buys Saudi towers majority share

  22 April 2024

  Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC Group) have signed definitive agreements for the PIF to acquire a 51% stake in Telecommunication Towers Company (Tawal) from STC Group.

  Tawal is valued at $5.9bn, according to the signed agreement, which the PIF announced on 22 April.

  The PIF and STC Group will consolidate Tawal and the PIF majority-owned Golden Lattice Investment Company (GLIC) into a merged entity, forming the "largest regional company in the telecommunications infrastructure sector", the Saudi sovereign wealth fund said.

  The PIF will own 54% of the combined new entity, with STC Group owning 43.1% and GLIC owning the remaining minority of the issued share capital. 

  The transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.

  It was reported in October 2022 that STC Group had received a non-binding offer from the Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle to buy 51% of Tawal.

  A wholly owned subsidiary of STC Group, Tawal designs and builds telecommunications towers and has a portfolio of over 15,000 towers across the kingdom.

  The PIF previously acquired Zain Business, the entity that owns the 8,069-tower infrastructure of Zain Saudi Arabia, for more than SR3bn.

  Following the transaction in 2022, the PIF changed the name of Zain Business to GLIC. Zain KSA received a cash amount of SR2.4bn and a 20% shareholidng in GLIC as part of the purchase agreement.

  

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  MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
  > BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
  > UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
  > DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
  > POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
  > WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
  > TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects

   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11701532/main5248.jpg

  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Funding concerns usher in new era for Saudi projects

  22 April 2024

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

  Saudi Arabia is still moving ahead with its ambitious gigaproject plans. But how those projects and the kingdom's other major developments are delivered is starting to change, ushering in a new era of more focused development.

  Over the past few years, the Saudi construction market has grown at a breakneck pace, allowing contractors to grow rapidly as they secure multibillion-dollar contracts. The Public Investment Fund or the government has funded most of these projects. As construction activity and contractors' bills ramp up, Riyadh has started questioning whether it can, or indeed should, continue with such a large amount of project spending.

  Those questions have resulted in two key trends in 2024. First, there is a focus on the parts of projects that need to be delivered first. This is best seen at The Line at Neom, where the priority is completing the modules at the marina. The next prime concern is diversifying project funding.

  Project developers are also ramping up efforts to find investors for project elements, and some are looking to raise debt. Neom is reportedly mulling a sukuk issuance to access additional funding sources for the project.

  These are important developments for the construction industry. This means that not all of the projects that were expected to go ahead will do so imminently, while those that do proceed will be more reliant on external funding than before.

  Companies that can identify the projects that are able to secure external funding will be successful.

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  MEED's April 2024 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

  > GVT & ECONOMY: Saudi Arabia seeks diversification amid regional tensions
  > BANKING: Saudi lenders gear up for corporate growth
  > UPSTREAM: Aramco spending drawdown to jolt oil projects
  > DOWNSTREAM: Master Gas System spending stimulates Saudi downstream sector
  > POWER: Riyadh to sustain power spending
  > WATER: Growth inevitable for the Saudi water sector
  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi gigaprojects propel construction sector
  > TRANSPORT: Saudi Arabia’s transport sector offers prospects

   

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11698347/main.jpg

  Colin Foreman