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Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has announced the preferred and reserve bidders for the Riyadh–Qassim Independent Water Transmission Pipeline (IWTP) project, a major scheme aimed at strengthening drinking water supply to Riyadh and the Al-Qassim region.
SWPC had received three bids for the project under a 35-year build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model, Zawya Projects reported in September 2025.
Local firm Vision International Investment Company (Vision Invest) was named preferred bidder after submitting the lowest levelised water transmission cost of 2.627 Saudi riyals per cubic metre (SAR/m³), SWPC said.
A consortium comprising Bahrain’s Lamar Holding, UAE-based Etihad Water and Electricity Company and China’s Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation was selected as reserve bidder, with a bid of SAR 3.262/m³.
A third bid was submitted by a Saudi consortium of Al Jomaih Energy and Water Co., Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies (AWPT), Al Bawani Capital Company and Buhur for Investment Company, offering a levelised cost of SAR 3.324/m³.
The Riyadh–Qassim IWTP will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day) and extend over 859 kilometres, with bi-directional flow designed to support the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s plans to interconnect regions and enhance water security.
The project scope includes six strategic storage tanks in Riyadh with a combined capacity of 1.02 million m3, as well as 32 operational tanks along the pipeline route with a total capacity of 571,000 m3. It will also integrate solar power solutions to reduce carbon emissions while remaining connected to the electricity grid.
Commercial operations are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2030.
For comparison, the levelised water transmission cost for the 150-km Rayis–Rabigh IWTP project, awarded in July 2024 to an AWPT-led consortium, was SAR 1.25678 per cubic metre.
For the 587-km Jubail-Buraydah IWTP, awarded to a consortium comprising Aljomaih Energy & Water Company, Nesma Company and Buhur for Investment Company in March 2025, the levelised water transmission cost was SAR 3.59468/m3. The project, with an estimated investment value of SAR 8.5 billion ($2.26 billion), had reached financial close in October 2025. Commercial operation is scheduled for the first quarter of 2029.
(Writing by Deva Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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