meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Manama jumpstarts utility sector

4 November 2024

 

On 21 October, Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) held a market-sounding event in Manama to gauge investor interest in its two upcoming utility public-private partnership (PPP) schemes, the Sitra independent water and power project (IWPP) and the Al-Hidd independent water project (IWP).

The event did not disappoint, attracting 60 representatives from regional and international utility developers and contracting firms such as France’s Engie, Japan’s Mitsui and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, among others. The EWA is expected to launch the prequalification process for both projects imminently.

The Sitra IWPP replaces the previously planned Al-Dur 3, which was in the early planning phases following the completion in 2021 of Al-Dur 2.

The planned Sitra IWPP is a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, which is expected to have a production capacity of about 1,200MW of electricity. The project's seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination unit will have a production capacity of 30 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) of potable water. It is expected to reach commercial operations in 2029.

The Al-Hidd IWP is Bahrain’s first independent, standalone SWRO plant. It is expected to have a production capacity of about 60MIGD of potable water and be completed in 2028.

The imminent launch of the two projects boosts Bahrain’s lean projects pipeline, which has experienced muted growth in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the completion of the Al-Dur 2 IWPP, which delivered 1,500MW of gas-fired generation capacity and 227,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of desalination capacity.

MEED understands that both the Sitra and Al-Hidd plants are being procured to cater for a combination of demand growth and some replacement capacity with more efficient and sustainable technology.

Commenting on the Al-Hidd IWP, Robert Bryniak, CEO of Dubai-based Golden Sands Management (Marketing) Consulting, says that it will be interesting to see what the tariff comes in at for a desalination plant of its size, and how many bids are received.

“Traditionally, Bahrain has done combined power and water plants, but given the inroads reverse osmosis (RO) technology  has made over the years, it does make sense to plan them as separate plants,” says Bryniak. “Capacity-wise, the Al-Hidd IWP can be considered a mid-size plant in the region these days, although at around 270,000 cm/d, this is a large RO plant for Bahrain.”

A different set of factors will be at play for the Sidra IWPP, however.

For one, it is likely to be the last IWPP for Bahrain, which aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060.

According to a source familiar with utility projects in the country, the EWA is planning for future capacity to be sourced from renewables despite Bahrain's space and land constraints, which have hampered the execution of at least one solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power project (IPP) in the past.

The source says that Bahrain could also consider other options to decarbonise its electricity systems, such as by developing offshore wind or importing clean energy – Bahrain, after all, has consistently secured electricity from the GCC grid – to supplement its available capacity and meet future demand.

Solar PV projects

The EWA awarded its first utility-scale solar PV IPP to a team comprising Acwa Power and Mitsui in 2019. However, the 100MW Askar solar PV was subsequently put on hold, with the utility issuing a new design-and-build tender for a similar-sized project in February this year.

China's TBEA Xinjiang Sunoasis Company is the sole bidder for the contract, offering to build the 90MW-100MW solar PV farm for BD27.6m ($73.4m).

In 2018, Bahrain's Electricity & Water Affairs Ministry awarded Deft Contractors a contract to build, own, operate and maintain grid-tied solar PV power panels with a minimum capacity of 72MW in Sakhir in the south of the country.

The power plant will be located at several premises, including­ at Bahrain International Circuit, the University of Bahrain, Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre and Al-Dana Amphitheatre.

The solar panels are to be built on the rooftops, car park shades, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and grounds of these organisations’ facilities, a measure that directly addresses the country’s space and land constraints.

The 20-year power-purchase agreement for the project was signed in August last year, at which time Electricity & Water Affairs Minister Yasser Bin Ebrahim Humaidan said that project is in line with Bahrain’s broader vision to adopt a circular carbon economy, with the aim of bringing carbon emissions to net zero by 2060.

Water and waste

Bahrain’s Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning Ministry is the other client for the island-state's power and water infrastructure-related projects.

It launched the prequalification process in 2022 for a project to develop an integrated waste PPP project, which is understood to include a waste-to energy (WTE) plant.

The WTE plant’s intended outputs are electricity, fed into the national grid through a power-purchase agreement; incinerator bottom ash and flue gas; and recyclable materials

However, no further developments on the project have been forthcoming since early 2023, when the ministry prequalified several consortiums to bid for the contract.

The construction of new power and water desalination plants in Bahrain will likely require the building of new power stations. Nine such schemes are in the planning stage, according to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

As of November, bids are under evaluation for a contract to build two water distribution stations, one in Al-Hunayniyah and the other in South Saar. The bidders for the estimated $100m contract include the local Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons, Ahmed Mansoor Al-Aali and Panorama Contracting, as well as the UAE-based Tecton Engineering.

The scope covers the construction of two ground storage tanks, each with a capacity of 10 million gallons; two pump stations; and elevated storage reservoirs, in addition to the distributions stations.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12832025/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Saudi Arabia names Expo 2030 Riyadh Company CEO

    23 June 2025

    Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has named Talal Al-Marri as the CEO to lead the newly-launched Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC).

    In an official statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, the PIF said that Al-Marri "is expected to lead the Expo 2030 Riyadh team in delivering a world-class exhibition that reflects the kingdom’s ambitions and rapid development, in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030".

    Al-Marri has previously held several senior executive roles at Saudi Aramco, including president and CEO of Aramco Europe, senior vice president of community services and senior vice president of industrial services.

    The announcement follows the establishment of ERC as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PIF that will build and operate facilities for Expo 2030.

    In a statement, the PIF said: “During its construction phases, Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy are projected to contribute around $64bn to Saudi GDP and generate approximately 171,000 direct and indirect jobs. Once operational, it is expected to contribute approximately $5.6bn to GDP.”

    The masterplan for Expo 2030 Riyadh encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo. Situated to the north of the city, the expo site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, providing direct access to various landmarks within the Saudi capital.

    Countries participating in Expo 2030 Riyadh will have the option to construct permanent pavilions, contributing to the event's legacy. This initiative is expected to create opportunities for business and investment growth in the region.

    The expo is projected to attract over 40 million visitors. After the event concludes, ERC plans to convert the expo's secured area into a global village, to serve as a multicultural centre for retail and dining. This development will also include an international residential community with various amenities, with a focus on sustainable tourism practices.

    Expo 2030 Riyadh will run from 1 October 2030 to 31 March 2031.

    In mid-May, MEED reported that Riyadh had begun talks with stakeholders in preparation for the start of the construction works for the event.

    The discussions were understood to have been held with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the PIF.

    German architectural firm Lava Architects and US-based engineering firm Jacobs are assisting with the project masterplan and the design of infrastructure for the site.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14116512/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Adnoc prepares tender for next Upper Zakum field expansion

    23 June 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Adnoc Offshore is preparing to start the tendering process for the next expansion phase of the Upper Zakum field development in Abu Dhabi, the objective of which is to increase the asset’s oil production potential to 1.5 million barrels a day (b/d).

    MEED reported in November that the offshore oil and gas production business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore) had awarded a contract for pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-feed) and feed services on the project to France-headquartered contractor Technip Energies.

    A kick-off meeting between Adnoc Offshore and Technip Energies took place on 21 November, it was previously reported.

    Pre-feed and feed works on the project, which is known as UZ 1.5MMBD, are in an advanced stage, according to sources. “Adnoc Offshore could be expected to issue the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender as early as July,” one source said.

    Located 84 kilometres offshore in Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s second-largest offshore oil field and fourth-largest oil field.

    The UZ 1.5MMBD project is the latest crude output expansion project that Adnoc Offshore has undertaken at the Upper Zakum field development.

    Upper Zakum expansion

    The first phase of the programme to raise the Upper Zakum offshore field development’s oil production capacity to 1.2 million b/d was launched in 2019. The initial goal was to increase the field’s output potential to 1 million b/d by 2024, which was later increased to 1.2 million b/d, with the project execution timeline eventually extended.

    In April last year, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had awarded the main EPC contract for the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project to UAE-based Target Engineering Construction Company. The value of the contract was estimated to be $825m.

    The project’s main scope involves the EPC of several surface facilities and plants at the Upper Zakum offshore development’s four main artificial islands: Al-Ghallan, Umm Al-Anbar, Ettouk and Asseifiya – also known as Central Island, West Island, North Island and South Island, respectively.

    Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas won the contract for the feed works on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project in 2019. UK-headquartered Wood Group was appointed as the project management consultant for the EPC phase.

    In November, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had also selected Target for the second phase of the Upper Zakum 1.2 million b/d project (UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2). The value of the contract was estimated to be about $500m, according to sources.

    Target began work on the project in December, MEED previously reported.

    The scope of work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project covers the EPC of several structures on Assefiya Island.

    Adnoc Offshore performed the feed work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project in-house.

    Upper Zakum oil production

    Adnoc Offshore has committed to a total capital expenditure budget of approximately $30bn, along with its operating partners in the Upper Zakum hydrocarbons concession, Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco) and US-based ExxonMobil. 

    The strategic objective is to first raise the asset’s oil output from 640,000 b/d to 750,000 b/d through the UZ 750 project, then to 1.2 million b/d through the two phases of the ongoing UZ 1.2MMBD project, and eventually to 1.5 million b/d.

    Zakum Development Company (Zadco), which later merged into Adnoc Offshore, awarded EPC contracts for the UZ 750 project in 2012 and early 2013.

    The $817m first package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy (then known as National Petroleum Construction Company) and Technip Energies. Package two, the project’s largest EPC package, worth $3.7bn, was awarded to a consortium of UK-headquartered Petrofac and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering.

    EPC work on UZ 750 began in 2014 and was completed in 2022.

    In October 2022, Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Drilling set a world record for drilling the longest oil and gas well at the Upper Zakum concession, stretching 50,000 feet.

    The extended-reach wells will tap into an undeveloped part of the Upper Zakum reservoir, potentially increasing the field’s production capacity by 15,000 b/d without expanding or building any new infrastructure, Adnoc said.

    ALSO READ: Adnoc signs $60bn of agreements with US companies

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115851/main5852.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Beltone Leasing secures $20m funding from German investor

    23 June 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Beltone Leasing & Factoring has signed a $20m funding agreement with Germany-based Finance in Motion to expand lending to small businesses and support green finance initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

    The funding is evenly split between two investment vehicles: $10m from the Sanad Fund for micro, small and medium enterprises, and $10m from the Green for Growth Fund. Both facilities have a tenor of five years.

    Beltone said the funding will be used to provide finance for underserved businesses and low-income households, and to support renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable resource projects.

    In 2021, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority introduced mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate-related financial disclosures for listed companies and non-bank financial institutions. The first reporting cycle began in 2023. The agreement comes as financial institutions in the region face growing pressure to meet environmental and social targets while expanding credit to the private sector.

    Beltone Leasing & Factoring is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beltone Holding. The company offers financing solutions including leasing and factoring products to corporate and SME clients.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115758/main5331.jpg
    Sarah Rizvi
  • PIF firm prepares Pirelli tyre plant contract award

    23 June 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Mena Tyre Company is preparing to award a contract to build a Pirelli tyre manufacturing plant in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).

    MEED understands that the contract is being finalised and is expected to be signed within the next few weeks.

    The tender notice was issued in December last year, and firms submitted their final offers in April.

    Mena Tyre Company is a joint venture of Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Italian tyre maker Pirelli Tyre. The PIF holds a 75% stake in the venture, with Pirelli holding the remaining 25%.

    The plant is expected to start production in 2026. It will make tyres for passenger vehicles under the Pirelli brand. It will also manufacture and market tyres under a new local brand targeting the domestic and regional markets.

    The plant is expected to have the capacity to produce 3.5 million tyres a year.

    In March, MEED exclusively reported that the PIF and Pirelli Tyre had tendered the contract to build an estimated $550m tyre manufacturing plant in KAEC.

    UK-based firm Jones Lang LaSalle is the project consultant.

    The project is located within the King Salman Automotive Cluster of KAEC, which was officially announced on 6 February by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al-Saud. 

    The move was part of the kingdom’s push to become a dominant player in the Gulf’s automotive sector. It follows investment in recent years in infrastructure, supply chain development and research to attract global automakers to Saudi Arabia and create an ecosystem for electric vehicle (EV) production in particular – all driven by the Saudi Vision 2030 mandate to diversify the economy.

    The cluster is expected to be a major contributor to the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme (NIDLP), which aims to develop high-growth sectors locally and attract foreign investment.

    Several schemes supporting the NIDLP have made significant progress in recent years, including multibillion-dollar EV manufacturing plants backed by the PIF, such as assembly facilities for US-based Lucid Motors and Ceer, the kingdom’s first homegrown EV brand, launched by the PIF in collaboration with Taiwan’s Foxconn.

    These facilities are supported by the National Automotive & Mobility Investment Company (Tasaru Mobility Investments), which the PIF established in 2023 to develop the kingdom’s local supply chain capabilities for the automotive and mobility industries.

    The PIF then signed several agreements with international companies, including South Korean car maker Hyundai and Pirelli, to establish production facilities in KAEC's automotive cluster.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115309/main5503.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Bahrain opens highway consultancy bids

    23 June 2025

    Bahrain’s Ministry of Works has opened the commercial bids that it received from firms for a contract covering the pre-contract engineering consultancy services for the next phase of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Highway upgrade.

    According to the official notice published by the Bahrain Tender Board, the scope of the contract includes designs to update the highway to at least five lanes each way, update utility corridors, revise the stormwater design and prepare contract drawings and tender documents.

    The bidders include:

    • Parsons Corporation (US) – $1.5m
    • Aecom (US) – $1.6m

    In March, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Bahrain’s government signed a KD10m ($32.4m) loan agreement to fund the second phase of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Highway, which is expected to cost about $404m.

    According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the construction on the project’s first phase was completed in 2020.

    A joint venture of local firm Nass Contracting and Kuwait’s KCC Engineering & Contracting undertook the project’s main construction works.

    According to a report by UK data analytics firm GlobalData, Bahrain’s construction industry is expected to grow by 3.5% in real terms in 2025, supported by public and private sector investments in industrial, commercial and energy construction projects, coupled with the rise in the value of awarded tenders.

    The report adds that the total value of tenders awarded grew by 145.2% year-on-year in 2024, preceded by an annual growth of 114.1% in 2023.

    The infrastructure construction sector is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2025, before registering an annual average growth of 5.4% in 2026-29, supported by investments in major road and airport construction projects.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115007/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal