Dubai receives two bids for Hassyan IWP retender

The same two consortiums that participated in the original tender submitted proposals for the planned Hassyan independent water project (IWP). The bids submitted for the re-tender were even lower than the world record tariff submitted in the original tender.

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has received proposals from the same two original bidders for the planned Hassyan independent water project (IWP), the emirate’s first public-private partnership (PPP) desalination project.

Consortiums led by UAE-based Utico and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power were once again the sole bidders for the planned Hassyan IWP.

Energy & Utilities reported in May that Dewa had retendered the project and also invited bidders to submit additional proposals for a 180 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) desalination plant, 60MIGD greater than the original 120MIGD plant tendered. The client also changed the site of the proposed plant.

The Utico-led consortium submitted the lowest proposals for both the base 120MIGD plant and the alternative 180MIGD facility.

The prices for both bidders for both sizes were:

• Utico – 120MIGD: $cents27.762/cubic metre (cm), 180MIGD: $c26.124/cm
• Acwa Power – 120MIGD: $c29.892/cm, 180MIGD: $c28.991/cm

The Utico consortium also submitted the lowest bid in the original tender, submitting a proposal of $c30.6/cm. Acwa Power submitted a proposal of $31.8/cm in the original tender.

The lowest bid was a world record low levelised tariff for a RO (reverse osmosis) IWP project.

The project is Dubai’s first IWP, with previous desalination projects having been tendered under engineering, procurement and construction contracts.

Dewa appointed the UK’s EY as lead and financial adviser for the project, UK-based CMS as legal adviser and Canada’s WSP as technical adviser.