Kuwait resets IWPP bid deadline to December
20 September 2024
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEWRE), through the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (Kapp), has given prequalified bidders another three-month extension to submit their proposals for a contract to develop and operate the country's next independent water and power producer (IWPP) project.
The new tender closing date has been extended to 30 December from a previous 30 September deadline, according to a source close to the project.
The Al-Zour North 2 and 3 IWPP will merge the previously planned second and third phases. It will have a generation capacity of 2,700MW and a desalination capacity of 120 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).
Located about 100 kilometres south of Kuwait City, the project will be adjacent to the western border of the first Al-Zour North facility for electric power generation and water desalination, which is currently in operation, and on the northern border of the Al-Zour South station.
Kapp received statements of qualification last year from utility developers for the contracts to develop the Al-Zour North 2 and 3 and Al-Khiran 1 IWPP projects.
It now plans to procure the Al-Zour North 2 and 3 and Al-Khiran 1 projects as two separate IWPP contracts.
Industry sources said companies that have been qualified to bid for the contracts include:
- Abu Dhabi National Energy (Taqa) / AH Al-Sager & Brothers Company (local) / Jera (Japan)
- Acwa Power (local) / Gulf Investment Corporation (Kuwait)
- China Power International Holding (China) / Malakoff International (Malaysia) / Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan & Sons (Saudi Arabia)
- Nebras Power (Qatar)
- Sumitomo Corporation (Japan)
Separate contracts
The contract to develop the Al-Zour North 2 and 3 IWPP scheme was tendered on 31 March and a pre-bid conference was conducted in May.
The Al-Khiran 1 IWPP will have a power generation capacity of 1,800MW and a desalination capacity of 33 MIGD.
Both projects will export their production to the electricity grid and water transmission grid through an energy transfer and water purchase contract agreement with MEWRE for 25 years from the date of operation of the station.
Both plants are expected to run on a mixture of liquefied natural gas and high-pressure natural gas, with gas oil as a reserve fuel.
MEED understands that the selected developer or developers will have the option to use thermal or reverse osmosis technology for the water desalination facility.
A team comprising UK-headquartered firms EY, Atkins and Addleshaw Goddard won the transaction advisory contract for the two IWPPs in April 2021, two months after Kapp obtained approval from the State Audit Bureau to award the contract.
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