Saudi Arabia invites interest in Medina 3 ISTP

The Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has invited developers to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for the planned 375,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) Medina 3 independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP).

Firms have been invites to submit expressions of interest (EOI) by 4 February for the ISTP. The winning developer will sign a 25-year sewage treatment agreement (STA) with SWPC. The sewage capacity will be supplied by SWPC.

The STA will be supported by a credit support agreement from the Saudi government.

SWPC has appointed Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as lead and financial adviser, UK-based Atkins as technical adviser and UK legal firm DLA Piper as legal consultant.

SWPC awarded contracts for Saud Arabia’s first three ISTP projects in 2019, with sewage treatment plants before this date having all been delivered under standard engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.

In December, SWPC awarded a contract to a consortium of Spain’s Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios and local company Tawzea to develop the Taif ISTP.

The winning team had submitted the lowest tariff of SRhalala 107.9 ($cents2.87) a cubic metre during a competitive bidding process in August. The Taif ISTP will have a treatment capacity of 100,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), and will be developed operated under a 25-year sewage treatment agreement.

SWPC appointed Japan’s Mizuho Bank as lead and financial adviser and UK-based Atkins, now part of SNC’s Lavalin, as technical adviser for the Taif scheme.

In February last year, the client signed contracts with a consortium comprising local firms Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail, Al-Amwal al-Khaleejiah and France’s Veolia to develop the 500,000 cm/d Jeddah Airport 2 ISTP.

The February award of the Jeddah airport project followed less than a month after a consortium of UAE’s Metito, Egypt's Orascom and the local Mowah was appointed to develop the Dammam West, the kingdom’s first ISTP project.

The Dammam West plant, located in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, will have an initial capacity of 200,000 cm/d, with a design that will allow expansion up to 350,000 cm/d in the future.

Like the latest project, all three of the awarded ISTP projects will be developed under a 25-year sewage treatment agreement (STA) with sewage capacity to be provided by the National Water Company.