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  Bahrain awards Sitra 400kV grid contracts

  19 October 2026

  Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) has awarded two contracts related to the establishment of new Sitra 400kV grid substations, according to sources.

  The first contract covers transformer and reactor works including the supply and installation of three 400 kV, 500 MVA power transformers along with associated reactors. The package covers design, manufacturing, supply, transportation, erection, testing, and commissioning.

  Switzerland-headquartered Hitachi Energy has been appointed as the main contractor for these works after submitting a bid of BD17.8m ($47.1m) in April, as reported by MEED.

  Germany’s Siemens Energy previously submitted the only other offer of BD23.9m ($63.2m).

  The second contract involves 400kV and 220kV feeder cable works for the same Sitra 400kV grid substations. The package covers the design, manufacture, supply, transportation, installation, testing and commissioning of 400kV and 220kV feeder cables.

  Earlier this year, MEED reported that three South Korean companies had made offers for the feeder cable packages, with Iljin Electric submitting the lowest bid of BD35m ($92.7m).

  It is understood that the contractor has now been appointed to carry out the main works for the project.

  The works are part of the broader “Establishment of New 400 kV Grid Substations & Subsystem” initiative, aiming to bolster the power grid’s capacity and support integration with new power and water infrastructure at Sitra.

  In September 2025, Siemens Energy won a contract worth BD48.1m ($127m) to build a 400kV transmission substation in Sitra to provide the transmission link for the planned Sitra independent water and power plant (IWPP), which is expected to generate at least 1,200MW of electricity.

  Bahrain’s fourth IWPP is being procured by EWA under a public-private partnership framework for 20-25 years.

  The combined-cycle gas turbine plant includes a seawater reverse osmosis desalination facility, which will have a production capacity of 30 million imperial gallons a day of potable water.

  Last month, MEED exclusively reported on proposed first-year tariffs for the project following the opening of financial bids. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa submitted the lowest offer for both the power and water components.

  This includes a first-year power tariff of BD17.1652 ($45.65) a megawatt-hour and a water tariff of BD0.4915 ($1.307) a cubic metre.

  Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) submitted a first-year power tariff of BD17.48190 ($46.49) a megawatt-hour and a water tariff of BD0.54285 ($1.444 ) a cubic metre.

  The main contract for the build-own-operate project is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Algeria tenders 310km Tamanrasset railway

  16 October 2026

  

   

  Algeria’s state railway project developer, Agence Nationale d’Etudes et de Suivi de la Realisation des Investissements Ferroviaires (Anesrif), has invited national and international contractors to bid for the construction of a 310-kilometre (km) railway line between Hotel Station and Moulay Lahcen Station. 

  The planned line is a key segment of the proposed railway corridor connecting El-Menea, In-Salah and Tamanrasset across the southern wilayas of In-Salah and Tamanrasset.

  The tender notice was issued on 12 October, with bids due by 10 November.

  The tender is open to single contractors and consortiums. To qualify, single firms must have executed at least 200km of new railway lines or track-doubling works since 2010, with accepted project certificates covering sections of at least 100km, along with a cumulative 800 metres of railway bridges with individual spans exceeding 30 metres.

  Bidders must also provide at least two rail-tamping machines, two ballast regulators, and a project director with an engineering degree and at least five years of railway construction management experience.

  From a commercial and classification perspective, single bidders and consortium leaders must hold a category-nine (IX) professional qualification in public works.

  Bidders must also demonstrate an average annual turnover in construction of at least DZ260bn ($1.96bn) across the 2023-2025 financial period.

  For joint ventures, the cumulative turnover of all members must meet the $1.96bn threshold, with the consortium leader accounting for at least $1.3bn.

  Offers must be accompanied by a bid bond exceeding 1% of the total bid value for submissions exceeding $7.4m, with proposals remaining valid for 90 days beyond the submission date.

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Joint venture wins $246m RCRC bridges contract

  16 October 2026

  

   

  A joint venture of local contractor Mofarreh Group and Turkey-based Gulsan Holding has won an estimated SR923m ($246m) contract from the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) to construct a series of grade-separated steel flyovers across the capital.

  The contract, known as Package 2 (Groups 2 and 3), is part of RCRC’s urgent bridges programme under the wider project to build steel bridges at 10 junctions across Riyadh.

  The works have a 12-month execution timeline to fast-track traffic decongestion across major arterial corridors.

  The joint venture’s scope covers the engineering and construction of grade-separated steel bridge interchanges across seven key intersections:

  • IC04: Al-Khair Road and King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Road
  • IC05: Prince Turki Road and Imam Saud Road
  • IC06: Al-Takhassosi Road and Saeed Al-Sulami Road
  • IC07: Khurais Road and Al-Hareth Bin Abdullah Road
  • IC08: Khurais Road and Ash-Sharq Road
  • IC09: Khurais Road and Marmar Road
  • IC10: Al-Kharj Road and Al-Hilla Road

  The total length of the flyovers is 8.86 kilometres, excluding Junction IC10.

  In addition to the structural steel superstructures, concrete bridge foundations, decks and approach ramps, the contract includes retaining walls, utility diversions, temporary phased traffic arrangements, associated roadworks, drainage networks, roadway lighting, intelligent transportation systems and landscaping.

  The client received commercial proposals from several local and international contractors. Other bidders included:

  • Masco
  • Nesma & Partners
  • Al-Omaier Trading & Contracting Company 
  • Yuksel Saudia 
  • Batco 
  • Modern Building Leaders
  • Sapac

  The urgent bridges initiative is part of Riyadh’s rapid transport infrastructure programme to improve traffic throughput, enhance safety and ease vehicular congestion across central and ring-road corridors ahead of major events, including Expo 2030 and the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

  In July, Mofarreh Group and Turkiye’s Gulsan Holding formed a joint venture to bid for and deliver transport infrastructure projects in Riyadh for RCRC.

  The joint venture said it will target road, bridge, viaduct and interchange projects.

  Mofarreh will provide local market access and operational capacity, while Gulsan will contribute international experience in large-scale transport projects.

  The companies said the new venture will support knowledge transfer and localisation, and promote the use of international engineering and construction standards aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 infrastructure and sustainability goals.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Humain tenders 100MW Riyadh AI data centre

  16 October 2026

  

   

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  Saudi artificial intelligence infrastructure developer Humain has issued a request for proposals for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to deliver a 100MW artificial intelligence (AI) data centre facility in Riyadh’s Al-Saad area.

  The tender was issued on 17 September, with bids due by 8 November.

  The contract includes core-and-shell works; civil works; mechanical, electrical and plumbing installation; testing and commissioning; and site infrastructure across a 350,200-square-metre plot.

  The project also includes an optional expansion phase that could raise total site capacity to 200MW.

  The initial 100MW development is split into two equal 50MW phases, structured across two single-storey IT buildings housing four 25MW data halls.

  Phase one targets a ready-for-service date by October 2028, followed by phase two in January 2029.

  Under the optional phase three, an additional 100MW facility would be brought online by July 2029.

  The data centre will be designed to support high-density graphics processing unit clusters and AI-compute workloads, with rack densities of 240kW to 250kW.

  The facility will be built to Uptime Institute Tier III topology and LEED Silver standards as a baseline, targeting LEED Gold.

  The operational design targets an annualised power usage effectiveness below 1.35.

  Power will be delivered through four 33kV connections supplied by Saudi Electricity Company from two separate high-voltage/medium-voltage primary substations. The scope requires 15 transformers, 15 static 2,250kW IT uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, and 450kW mechanical UPS systems with lithium-ion battery storage for each 25MW block. 

  Backup emergency diesel generators will be provided on an owner-furnished, contractor-installed basis, with the EPC contractor handling their installation, connection and testing. Fuel storage will provide 24 hours of autonomous run-time, split between on-site underground bulk tanks and generator belly tanks.

  Thermal management combines air and liquid cooling. High-density server racks will be equipped with direct-to-chip liquid cooling loops using coolant distribution units and technical water distribution, paired with air-cooled chillers operating in dual high- and low-temperature loops, alongside fan-wall units.

  The total construction timeline is capped at 25 months from site handover or contract signing, with pre-execution early mobilisation scheduled to start in January 2027.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Adnoc Onshore seeks bids for Bu Hasa field EOR project

  16 October 2026

  

   

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  The onshore oil and gas business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Onshore) has sought bids from contractors for a key project to increase the oil production capacity of the Bu Hasa oil field, primarily through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques.

  The main objective of the Bu Hasa-Shuaiba EOR Unit 1 (Phase 1) project is to achieve a targeted 70% increase in oil production, extend the Bu Hasa field development’s production plateau and maximise the field’s potential in an economical manner.

  The project aims to confirm and validate the optimum EOR technology for the top-ranked reservoirs/units; assess incremental recovery on top of the improved oil recovery (IOR) wedge; extend the field plateau for as long as is economically feasible; and achieve an ultimate recovery factor of 70% from the Shuaiba reservoir. It will evaluate and execute the recommended EOR option through pattern phasing for any technology proven by Adnoc.

  Adnoc Onshore is understood to have issued the tender for the project on 20 September, with an initial technical bid submission deadline of 8 October, according to sources. The client later extended the technical bid submission deadline to 17 October, sources told MEED.

  The chosen contractor will execute the project under a hybrid contracting strategy comprising:

  • A lump sum (turnkey) EPC scope covering the complete pipeline system from East Hub to the separation plant
  • A call-out-based scope for execution of all WAG injector and WSW tie-in works

  Unless otherwise specified, all activities defined under the contractor’s scope will be deemed included within the lump-sum contract price. This will cover engineering, procurement, construction, testing, pre-commissioning and support to commissioning for a complete and operable system.

  At the Bu Hasa field development, three remote degassing stations (RDS-1/2/3) and two satellite stations, Bida Al-Qemzan and Huwaila, are currently in operation. Production from oil wells completed in Shuaiba, Thamama B, Thamama F, Bida Al-Qemzan and Huwaila is routed via individual flowlines to the three remote degassing stations and the Bida Al-Qemzan and Huwaila stations across different parts of the field.

  Combined production from the wells at each of these stations is routed to the central degassing stations (CDS) via transfer lines ranging from 16 inches to 24 inches in diameter. In addition, some wells in the central part of the field are connected directly to the CDS.

  Previous studies have identified carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding as a promising tertiary recovery mechanism in the Shuaiba reservoir, delivering incremental recovery on top of the IOR wedge (P5 project), extending the field plateau as long as economically feasible, and achieving an ultimate recovery factor of 70% from the Bu Hasa Shuaiba units.

  Located 200 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi city, Bu Hasa is Adnoc Onshore’s westernmost producing field. It is one of Abu Dhabi's biggest onshore assets, with crude oil production capacity of 650,000 b/d. It is also one of the Adnoc Group’s oldest oil fields, having been discovered in 1962 and in production since May 1965.

  As part of the ongoing Bu Hasa Integrated Field Development Project (BUIFDP), 13 new well pads and two pad hubs have been added to the field. Oil, gas and water produced at these sites will be collected at a central gathering facility, then sent through production headers and transfer lines to the CDS for processing.

  Adnoc Onshore is the Adnoc Group’s largest oil-producing subsidiary, accounting for 2 million b/d of oil and about 7 billion cubic feet a day of associated gas production from four main onshore field developments in Abu Dhabi: Bab, Bu Hasa, North East Bab and South East.

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  Indrajit Sen