Kahramaa has prequalified developers for the planned Facility E independent water and power project (IWPP).

MEED reported in October that Kahramaa had received prequalification entries from developers, and, according to sources close to the scheme, the client has prequalified about 13 developers to participate in the tender.

Prequalified bidders are understood to include: Engie (France)/Mitsui (Japan), Itochu (Japan), Kepco (South Korea)/Mitsubishi (Japan), PowerChina (China) and Sumitomo (Japan).

Prequalified developers have not been notified of when the request for proposals (RFP) will be issued, although it is targeting to invite bids before the beginning of the Holy month of Ramadan in mid-May.

The IWPP is expected to have a power generation capacity of between 2,000-2,500MW and a desalination capacity of between 100 and 130 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

MEED reported in February last year that Kahramaa had selected advisers for the Facility E IWPP. The appointed advisory consortium contains the UK’s EY as financial consultant, Finland’s Poyry as technical consultant and the UK’s DLA Piper as legal adviser.

Facility E is planned to meet demand for electricity in Qatar in the years following 2020, with the Facility D IWPP currently under construction.

In 2015, a consortium of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) was awarded a contract to develop the $3bn Facility D IWPP in Qatar Economic Zone, about 15 kilometres south of Doha. The plant will have a total power capacity of 2.5GW and a desalination capacity of 136 MIGD.

First power from the scheme is expected in 2017, with the whole facility scheduled to come online in 2018. The IWPP will be located in the Qatar Economic Zone (QEZ) near Mesaieed.

South Korea’s Samsung C&T was awarded the $1.8bn deal to build the Facility D IWPP in July 2015. The contract covers engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a 2.5GW combined-cycle power plant.