KUWAIT CITY -  Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded its largest environmental project for cleaning polluted soil at a total cost of more than KD1 billion to various local and international companies, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) has agreed to award five stages of the project — which is considered one of the largest in the world — to local and international companies; affirming the contracts will be signed within the next two weeks. Sources told the daily that the North Kuwait Drilling, Transport and Processing Project is divided into two sites with a total value of $381.58 million. The first site (Zone One) was awarded to the alliance of Khaled Ali Al-Kharafiand Brothers for Construction Contracting and Lamor Corporation as per the terms and specifications for a total amount of $193.58 million. The second site (Zone Two) was awarded to Kuwaiti Company for Plant Construction and Contracting and Environmental Technology Management Company for a total amount of $188 million.

Awarded
Meanwhile, the South Kuwait Drilling, Transport and Processing was awarded as follows: Zone One to the alliance of Khaled Ali Al-Kharafiand Brothers for Construction Contracting and Lamor Corporation valued at $196.53 million.

Zone Two to the Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Company in alliance with Zaopin St Co Ltd valued at $185.23 million. Zone Three to the alliance of Al-Sayer Construction Company for General Trading and Contracting and Water & Soil Remediation valued at $250.6 million. KOC worked hard to develop a comprehensive environmental program entitled, “Comprehensive Rehabilitation Solutions,” at a cost of $2 billion. This includes several projects for soil rehabilitation and environmental reclamation, covering all affected areas and sectors within the company’s scope of work and these projects are expected to be implemented within a decade. By awarding the tenders for soil rehabilitation, the company is moving towards achieving its strategic objectives regarding environmental affairs through the application of environmental initiatives and standards.

These projects are known as drilling, transport and treatment in North Kuwait; as well as the South Kuwait Exploration, Transport and Processing Project that is expected to treat approximately 13 million cubic meters of oil contaminated soil.

This is related to soil damage, including lakes, moist and dry oil and oil-contaminated piles. The region covers 114 square kilometers of land contaminated with crude oil as a result of the destruction of about 700 oil wells in Kuwait. The projects, which are part of the environmental treatment program, have been subjected to significant delays and cancellations. In 2019, KOC canceled a tender for a contract to clean 200,000 to 300,000 square meters of contaminated soil. It is believed that the cancellation was due to the failure of the contractor to clarify the specifications ; particularly the use of biological treatment techniques, instead of burying the contaminated soil. However, it was found out later that the contract was canceled for legal reasons.

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