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  Frontrunner emerges for Saudi sewage treatment project

  13 March 2026

  

   

  A consortium led by China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology has emerged as the frontrunner for a contract to build and upgrade two sewage treatment plants in Saudi Arabia, according to sources.

  The contract covers the North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11), part of the next phase of National Water Company’s (NWC) long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM) sewage treatment programme.

  The consortium comprising United Water, Prosus Energy (UAE) and Armada Holding (Saudi Arabia) offered “the lowest tariff” for the project, sources told MEED.

  It is understood that Turkey’s Kuzu has made the next-lowest bid.

  The development, estimated to cost about $211m, will have a combined capacity of about 440,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

  In February, MEED exclusively reported that six bidders were competing for the contract.

  The other companies that have submitted proposals include:

  • Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
  • Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
  • VA Tech Wabag (India)
  • Aguas de Valencia (Spain)

  LTOM11, also known as the North Western A Cluster, forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

  The scheme is being procured on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with a long-term operations component.

  The main contract was tendered last year, with an award initially expected by the end of 2025.

  It is now understood that NWC is preparing to offer the main contract in the second quarter.

  As previously reported, Saudi Arabia’s NWC is also evaluating five bids for package 12 of its long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM12) sewage treatment programme.

  Known as the North Western B Cluster, LTOM12 forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

  In January, the same United Water-led consortium won the main contract for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).

  That project includes the rehabilitation and operation of nine sewage treatment plants located across the Hail, Qassim, Al-Jouf and Northern Borders provinces

  NWC is also preparing to tender a contract for the construction of 10 sewage treatment plants as part of package 14 of the programme.

  The final details of the Eastern A Cluster (LTOM14) package are being finalised, with a tender likely to be issued in March or April, sources told MEED.

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  READ THE MARCH 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the March 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Mark Dowdall
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  Medina tenders Sikkah Al-Hadid PPP project

  13 March 2026

  Saudi entities including Al-Madinah Regional Municipality, in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipalities & Housing and the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP), have floated a request for proposal (RFP) notice for the development of the Sikkah Al-Hadid project.

  The project will be procured through build-own-operate-transfer contracts with a 50-year duration, using a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

  The deadline for bid submission is 23 June.

  The project will be located to the west of Medina on an 84,657-square-metre (sq m) site. 

  It includes a four-storey medical centre with a capacity of up to 200 beds and a shopping mall offering retail, food and beverage, and other entertainment facilities.

  In January last year, NCP asked firms to express their interest and prequalify for a contract to develop two mixed-use developments in Medina, which included the Sikkah Al-Hadid project and the Dhul Hulaifah project.

  The Dhul Hulaifah project will be built on a 30,112 sq m site located six kilometres from the Prophet’s Mosque. 

  The development will consist of a four-star hotel integrated with retail and healthcare facilities.

  MEED previously reported that Saudi Arabia had announced a P&PPP pipeline comprising 200 projects across 16 sectors.

  This pipeline aims to attract local and international investors and ensure their readiness to participate in the schemes tendered to the market.

  The initiative comes as the kingdom strives to increase the attractiveness of its economy and raise the private sector’s contribution to GDP.

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15968021/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Fuel storage facility attacked in Bahrain

  13 March 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Fuel storage tanks at a facility on Bahrain’s Muharraq Island were targeted in an attack attributed to Iran, according to a statement from Bahrain’s Interior Ministry.

  The ministry put out an alert for people in surrounding neighbourhoods “to remain in their homes, close windows and ventilation openings, as a precautionary measure against possible exposure to smoke”.

  Videos of the incident, which took place on 12 March, showed a large fire emitting black smoke. The fire was later extinguished by teams of firefighters.

  Bahrain’s international airport is also located on Muharraq Island.

  Iran has been firing missiles at a range of targets in nearby countries since it was attacked by the US and Israel on 28 February.

  On 11 March, a similar attack on fuel storage tanks in Oman led to the closure of some terminals at the port of Salalah.

  Footage recorded by vessel crews at the port, which is the largest in the country, showed explosions and a large fire.

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Bahrain contacts engineering companies over Sitra refinery damage

  13 March 2026

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  Bahrain’s national oil and gas company Bapco Energies is in touch with international engineering companies about damage done to the Sitra refinery by Iranian strikes, according to industry sources.

  In a statement on 9 March, Bapco Energies said its decision to issue the force majeure notice followed “the recent attack on its refinery complex”, without providing details.

  Bapco Energies is yet to share full details about the extent of the damage caused to the refinery, sources said.

  One source said: “Bapco has been corresponding with several companies with regard to the damage. It is being careful not to share confidential information, but it has reached out.”

  Prior to Bapco’s 9 March statement, the Sitra refinery was hit by a strike earlier in the day.

  That strike on the Sitra refinery was the second strike on the complex in days.

  Iranian missiles hit the facility on 5 March, resulting in parts of the refinery being engulfed in flames.

  Iran has been firing missiles at a range of targets in nearby countries since it was attacked by the US and Israel on 28 February.

  In November last year, MEED reported that Bapco Energies was in the final stages of ramping up volumes processed by new units that were installed as part of the Bapco Modernisation Programme (BMP).

  The project at the Sitra refinery in Bahrain is estimated to have been worth $7bn and was inaugurated by Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa in December 2024.

  At the time, the companies involved in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project were still working on the site to assist with efforts to increase volumes.

  Bapco Energies awarded the main $4.2bn contract to perform EPC works on the BMP to a consortium led by France’s Technip Energies in February 2018.

  The consortium also included Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas and South Korea’s Samsung E&A.

  Technip Energies also performed the project’s front-end engineering and design work. US oil and gas producer Chevron acted as a consultant on the BMP, while Australia-based Worley was the project management consultant.

  In March 2024, after a series of setbacks and delays, France’s Total Energies was brought in to support Bapco in “optimising” the project.

  The BMP is central to Bahrain’s Vision 2030 economic development strategy, and Bapco has said that it is crucial to boosting the country’s long-term downstream potential.

  The BMP was originally expected to reach mechanical completion in 2023, with operations set to begin in 2024.

  The core objective of the BMP was to upgrade the Sitra refinery – Bahrain’s only oil refining asset, which is 90 years old.

  One of the key units to be built as part of the BMP was a residual hydrocracking unit (RHCU) powered by technology licensed from US-based Chevron Lummus Global. The BMP team has built a two-train RHCU with a capacity of 65,000 barrels a day.

  The Sitra refinery includes seven crude distillation units (CDUs) and vacuum distillation units (VDUs) as part of the BMP.

  The new 225,000 b/d integrated crude and vacuum unit replaced CDUs 1, 2 and 3 and VDUs 1 and 3, which had served Bapco Energies for over 80 years.

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Italian consultant wins Egypt battery storage contract

  13 March 2026

  Italy-headquartered consultancy Rina has announced its appointment as owner’s engineer for the 1 gigawatt-hour Nefertiti battery energy storage system (bess) project in Egypt.

  The project is being developed by Dubai-based firm Amea Power and is located in the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan.

  The scheme will deploy a 500MW/1,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) utility-scale bess, making it the largest independent energy storage project in Africa.

  In March, a group comprising China Energy Engineering International Group, Zhejiang Thermal Power Construction and Southwest Electric Power Design & Research Institute was appointed as the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

  The $250m project also includes the construction of a 220kV substation, upgrades to an adjacent substation and development of grid network connection infrastructure.

  Under the owner’s engineer scope, Rina will deliver engineering design review, construction monitoring and commissioning support. The company will also undertake performance verification.

  Egypt’s utilities sector had its strongest year in over a decade in 2025, hitting $5bn in contract awards for the first time since 2015. 

  Last July, Amea Power commissioned Egypt’s first-ever utility-scale bess.

  The 300MWh project had previously reached financial close in June.

  The bess project is an extension of Amea Power’s operational 500MW solar photovoltaic plant in Aswan Governorate, which was commissioned in December 2024.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15954234/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall