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Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has announced the preferred and reserve bidders for two sewage treatment plant projects in Makkah under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The results for the 100,000 cubic metres/day (m3/day) Hadda and the the 100,000 m3/day Arana Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP) projects were announced after the completion of comprehensive evaluation of all bids received on 31 July 2025, SWPC said in a press statement.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for both Arana and Hadda ISTPs was issued on 5 January 2025.
The two ISTP projects aim to increase wastewater treatment capacity serving Makkah City and the Holy Sites, and will be implemented on BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer) basis through 25-year Sewage Treatment Agreements (STAs).
Arana ISTP
SWPC said a consortium led by Saudi company Miahona with compatriots Marafiq Company and Buhur for Investment was selected as the Preferred Bidder for Arana ISTP project after submitting the lowest levelised cost of 1.350 Saudi riyals per cubic metre (SAR/m3).
A consortium led by UAE’s Metito Utilities and including UAE’s Etihad Water and Electricity Company (EtihadWE), and SkyBridge Limited was named the Reserve Bidder with a levelised cost of SAR 1.505/m3.
Arana's provisional commercial operations date (PCOD) is set for the third quarter of 2028.
Hadda ISTP
On the other hand, the Metito consortium was selected as the Preferred Bidder for Hadda ISTP project after submitting the lowest levelised cost of SAR 2.354/m3 whereas the Miahona consortium, which submitted a levelised cost of SAR 2.599/m3, was selected as the Reserve Bidder.
Hadda’s PCOD is set for the second quarter of 2028.
TSE system
Both ISTPs also include a complete treated sewage effluent (TSE) reuse system comprising a storage tank each, and a 41-km transmission pipeline with a capacity of 400,000 m3/day for Arana and a 38-km transmission pipeline with a capacity of 350,000 m3/day for Hadda.
SWPC said the TSE reuse system represents 27 percent of the levelised cost of the Preferred Bidder for the Hadda ISTP, and 31 percent of the levelised cost of the Preferred Bidder for the Arana ISTP.
Tariff check
A total of five consortia had submitted bids for the two ISTP projects.
For the Arana ISTP, the Miahona consortium’s offer was 11.5 percent lower than the Preferred Bidder's offer.
A third consortium made up of Spain’s GS Inima Company and Saudi’s Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies (AWPT) followed closely with a bid of SAR 1.588/m3, just under 18 percent above the Preferred Bidder’s offer.
A Saudi consortium of Al Fanar Company and Civil Works Company (CWC) submitted a bid of SAR 1.849/m3 for the fourth place, while the consortium of Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding and Saudi-based TAWZEA ranked last with a significantly higher offer of SAR 2.634/m3 - almost 95 percent above the lowest bid.
For the Hadda ISTP, the Metito-led group offer was nearly 9.4 percent lower than the preferred bidder. The third bid, from GS Inima Company and AWPT, followed closely at SAR 2.717/m3. The consortium of Al Fanar Company and Civil Works Company (CWC) submitted a bid of SAR 2.999/m3, while Hassan Allam Holding and TAWZEA ranked last with an offer of SAR 3.749/m3 - around 59 percent above the lowest bid.
Hadda ISTP was slated to have an initial capacity of 100,000 m3/ day, expandable to 250,000 m3/day while Arana ISTP was to have an initial capacity of 250,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day), expandable to 500,000 m3/day.
(Writing by Deva Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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