Bahrain hopes to tender the main construction contract to double the capacity of its Tubli wastewater treatment plant by the end of 2013.

The construction contract is expected to be tendered as a design, build, operate contract, with a short-term operational period of two years. The expansion of the plant will increase its capacity of the wastewater treatment plant from the current 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) to 400,000 cm/d.

“Designs have been started, and if completed on time the tender process should be started by the end of 2013,” said Asma Murad, director of sanitary engineering planning and projects (SEPPD) at the Bahrain Works Ministry, speaking at MEED’s Water and Wastewater Conference 2012 in Abu Dhabi.

The Tubli expansion project was originally scheduled to follow the example of the Muharraq wastewater treatment plant, currently being developed by a consortium led by South Korea’s Samsung Engineering, and be procured by a public-private partnership (PPP) model. However, the Works Ministry has re-evaluated the Tubli plans and will now develop the project using a more traditional procurement method.

German firm P2mberlin is the consultant for the Tubli expansion scheme. P2mberlin, together with Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and Dornier Consulting, has provided consulting services for the development of a sewerage masterplan for the whole kingdom of Bahrain.

Expansion of the Tubli plant has been a key priority for the Bahraini government for a number of years. Tubli is the largest wastewater treatment plant on the island and covers the sewage treatment for the Bahrain capital city, Manama.