Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) has extended the deadline for bids to build an estimated SR1bn ($273m) sewage treatment plant at Jeddah airport. The new bid deadline is 7 July.

The sewage treatment plant will have a capacity of 500,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) and will feature a biogas heat-to-power unit with a capacity of 8MW.

The project will be the second wastewater treatment plant at King Abdulaziz International airport. The winning bidder will provide civil, mechanical and electrical works for the project.

The facility will be built in the northern part of Jeddah city near the King Abdulaziz International airport and adjacent to the first sewage treatment plant at the site. The plant will serve residential areas around Palestine Street and north-central neighbourhoods in Jeddah city.

A total of 12 consortiums have been prequalified for the contract. Once bids are submitted, they will be evaluated according to criteria that weights technical competence at 65 per cent, life-cycle assessment at 5 per cent and financial offer at 30 per cent.

Bids must score at least 70 per cent in the technical and life-cycle assessment before their financial offers are opened. The US’ CH2M Hill is technical adviser on the project.

In 2011, NWC said it had completed the first phase of improvements to Jeddah’s wastewater treatment system. Phase one extends the coverage of wastewater services from 22 per cent of the city to 72 per cent. The programme cost about SR8bn and includes four wastewater treatment plants with a combined capacity of 450,000 cm/d.

Further phases for wastewater improvement are planned for the next three to four years to expand coverage to 99 per cent.