Dubai Municipality has invited prequalified contractors to submit proposals for the main pumping station package on its Jebel Ali stormwater network project.

According to sources close to the scheme, the client has set a bid submission date of 28 May.

The prequalifiers for the pumping station project, known as package 1, are:

• Besix (Belgium)
• Odebrecht (Brazil)/Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) (Lebanon)
• Vinci Construction (France)
• Archirodon (Greece)
• Larsen & Toubro (India) / Samsung Engineering (South Korea)

MEED reported in December that the municipality had invited prequalified groups to submit proposals for the main tunnel package on the Jebel Ali network. The client has set a submission date of 2 April for the 12km-long main tunnel package. The main tunnel package is also referred to as package 2, and is one of three main packages planned for the stormwater network.

The second major tunnel package proposed in the initial plans is an 11.5km-long lateral tunnel.

The companies prequalified to bid for the tunnel contracts are:

• Salini Impregilo (Italy)
• Samsung C&T (South Korea) / Ghella (Italy)
• Acciona (Spain) / Larsen & Toubro (India)
• Vinci Construction (France)
• Bouygues (France)
• Porr (Austria) / Besix (Belgium)
• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Strabag (Austria) / Gulermak (Turkey)

The stormwater tunnel network has been identified as a key project to prevent any future flooding of Al-Maktoum International airport and the surrounding area, which will include the Expo 2020 site.

The stormwater network is one of three major deep-tunnel projects Dubai Municipality is planning to undertake.

The project owner is preparing to develop two major deep-tunnel sewer networks in the Deira and Bur Dubai areas of the emirate, which will be similar to the under-construction strategic tunnel enhancement programme (STEP) project in neighbouring Abu Dhabi.