Saudi Arabia's National Water Company (NWC) is expected to issue in the fourth quarter the first set of tenders for Long-term Operation and Maintenance (LTOM) contracts for its Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), a source aware of the details said.

In July, NWC said it had invited companies and consortia to prequalify for the LTOM contracts as part of its plan to offer investment opportunities for the private sector in waste water services. It said in the first phase, five LTOM packages would be offered for 15 STPs located in Riyadh, Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, and the Northern Borders governorates with a total capacity of 2.5 million cubic metres/day (m3/day).

"The Request for Proposal (RFP) tenders are likely to be issued between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021," the source told Zawya Projects.

He said the RFPs expected in the fourth quarter are Package 1, which comprises of Jeddah Airport 1 and Al Khumrah 3,4,6 STPs in Jeddah with a total capacity of 830,000 m3/day, and Package 2, which includes Arana and Hadda STPs in Makkah with a total capacity of 500,000 m3/day.

The RFPs likely in the first quarter of 2021 are Package 4, which comprises of Wadi Al-Araj 1 and 2 STPs in Taif with a total capacity of 167,000 m3/day, and Package 5, which includes Manfouha South, North and East and Phase 4 STPs in Riyadh with a total capacity of 900,000 m3/day.

"RFP timeframes are yet to be finalised for Package 3, which comprises of Arar and Turaif STPs in Northern Borders and Sakaka STP in Al Jouf with a combined capacity of 108,000 m3/day," the source confirmed.

Fichtner Consulting Engineers is the FEED consultant, Synergy Consulting is the financial adviser and Clifford Chance is the legal adviser, a second source told Zawya Projects.

The LTOM contracts cover rehabilitation, operational improvement and capacity increase for the STPs, and the development of sludge treatment in line with the environmental best practices, as well as producing high quality treated sewage effluent, according to past NWC statements.

(Reporting by Senthil Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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