Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has named a team comprising the local Miahona Company and Belgium's Besix as the preferred bidder for the contract to develop and maintain the proposed Al-Haer independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP) project in Riyadh.

A team comprising Spain's Acciona and the local Tawzea has been named as the reserved bidder.

The Miahona/Besix team offered to develop the project for SR1.9407 ($0.5173) a cubic metre, while the Acciona/Tawzea team offered SR2.2041 a cubic metre.

The Al-Haer ISTP project involves the development of a water treatment plant with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

It also includes the development of a treated sewage effluent (TSE) reuse system that covers a 32-kilometre pipeline with a capacity of 400,000 cm/d, a pumping station and TSE reservoir tanks with a capacity of 200,000 cubic metres.

The project is expected to reach commercial operation by the third quarter of 2026.

In addition to the preferred and reserved bidders, the consortiums that submitted proposals for the contract are:

• Alfanar Company (local) / Civil Works Company (local)
• GS Inima (Spain/South Korea) / Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies Company (local)

SWPC qualified more than 20 companies last year to bid for the Al-Haer ISTP contract, which is part of the third batch of the kingdom's ISTP programme.

It issued the request for proposals for the contract to qualified bidders in November last year.

Third batch schemes

Two other projects comprise the initial third ISTP batch. The Riyadh East and Khamis Mushait ISTP schemes will have 150,000 cm/d and 50,000 cm/d capacities, respectively. The contract for the development of the two schemes has yet to be tendered.

Originally comprising three schemes with a total capacity of 400,000 cm/d, batch three of the ISTP programme has been expanded to include the Hadda ISTP, which has a design capacity of 500,000 cm/d, and the Arana ISTP, which has a design capacity of 800,000 cm/d.

The procurement process for these two schemes will be undertaken separately.

Future Water & Power Consulting, KPMG and White & Case are providing technical, financial and legal advisory services, respectively, to the client for the ISTP batch three projects.