Egypt’s Housing, Utilities & Urban Development Ministry has prequalified five groups to bid to build a wastewater treatment project at Abu Rawash.

The prequalifiers are:

• Orascom (local), Veolia (France), Aqualia Gestion (Spain) and Aqualia Infrastructure (Spain)
• Mohamed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi & Sons Company (Kuwait and Cadagua (Spain)
• AAW (local), Degremont (France) and Hassan Allam Sons (local)
• Acciona Agua (Spain), ICAT (local) and Samcrete (local)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea), Macquarie (Australia), Donga (South Korea) and KB Entec (South Korea)

The ministry received a total of 10 responses to its request for expressions of interest, which had a deadline of 28 February following an extension of the original 14 February cut-off (MEED 18:3:10).

The winning bidder will take over the existing facility, which has a capacity of 1.2 million cubic metres a day (cm/d), and increase the capacity to 2 million cm/d.

Once a contract award is made, the successful consortium will design, construct, finance and operate the new and existing facilities, before transferring the plant back to the ministry at end of the 25-year contract.

KPMG is providing financial advisory services to the housing ministry. The UK’s Trowers & Hamlins is the legal adviser.

The Abu Rawash wastewater project follows a similar scheme, the New Cairo wastewater treatment public-private partnership project, which reached financial close in February this year.

The Orascom/Aqualia partnership was the successful bidder for the project. The Housing, Utilities & Urban Development Ministry selected the 50:50 Egyptian/Spanish joint venture over six other competing bids.