December deadline for $2bn Jordan water scheme
30 August 2023
Jordan’s Water & Irrigation Ministry (MWI) has extended to 4 December the tender closing date for the contract to develop the planned Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance project.
This marks a five-month extension to the previous bid submission deadline of 7 July.
Two or three of the five qualified bidders are expected to submit proposals for the contract, according to a source close to the project.
“They have done site visits and have been talking to lenders for financing. One of them has submitted a commitment letter to bid for the project,” the source tells MEED.
The client has prequalified the following firms to bid for the estimated $2bn contract:
- Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)
- Huta Marine Works (Saudi Arabia) / Ajlan & Brothers (Saudi Arabia) / Almar Water Solutions (Spain)
- Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
- Meridiam (France) / Vinci (France) / Orascom (Egypt)
- Naqel Water Solutions (Suez / CCC)
MWI issued the request for proposals in March 2022 and initially gave qualified bidders until 6 September last year to submit proposals.
The bid submission date has been revised multiple times since then.
“The project could face some financing challenges,” said one source close to the project, citing its scale.
The build-operate-transfer project is Jordan’s single largest planned infrastructure scheme to date. It will pipe water from the southern coast to the country’s northern regions.
The desalination component of the project will have the capacity to treat 835,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of water, unlike the previously reported two-phased approach with a smaller capacity for the initial phase.
The conveyance segment of the project includes the construction of a seawater intake pump station, reservoir, pipeline, booster pump stations and freshwater collection pipes.
The project is expected to use clean energy in line with the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
US-headquartered CDM Smith is the main project consultant and is supported by Beirut-headquartered Dar al-Handasah and Netherlands-based KPMG.
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