Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water has issued a tender for the first phase of the long-delayed Al-Zour North power and water project.

The winning bidder will construct phase one of the plant on a design, build, operate and maintain basis.

The cabinet approved the construction of a power and water plant at the site in September last year. The first phase of the plant will have capacity of 1,500MW of power and 102 million gallons a day (g/d) of desalinated water. 

The ministry has prequalified six bidders for the project including the local Abdulaziz Abdulmohsin Al-Rashed Sons Company with the US’ General Electric; the local Thuwainy Trading Company with Japan’s Mitsui; Germany’s Siemens; the local Matajer Al Khaleej United Trading & Contracting Company; Saudi Arabia’s Allied Technical General Trading & Contracting Company with Spain’s Iberdrola; and the local Heavy Engineering Industries and Shipbuilding Company with the Canada’s SNC Lavalin.

Interested parties have until 30 May to submit bids following a pre-tender meeting, which will be held on 12 April.

The first phase of the plant is scheduled to start operating in April 2012. It will begin operating commercially in April 2013.

In total, the four phases of the project will add 4,800MW of power and 280 million g/d of desalination capacity.

The ministry has tendered a project at Al-Zour North before but this was later cancelled because of limited interest from bidders.

The client prequalified seven companies to bid for the scheme in December 2005 but just one bid was submitted for the 2,500MW steam plant by the deadline the following year.

The bidding group was made up of the US’ Washington Group International, South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company.