Kuwait’s Electricity and Water Ministry has received 23 bids to install roughly 1MW of rooftop photovoltaic solar power capacity.

The solar panels are to be installed on the rooftops of the Electricity Ministry and the adjacent Public Works Ministry building in Kuwait City. The combined area of both rooftops is 8,400 square metres.

The following bids were submitted by 4 September following multiple bid deadline extensions (MEED 9:8:11):

• Al-Amer Electrical Company – KD1.20m ($3.1m)
• Al-Roumi Trading & Contracting Company – KD2.21m
• International Contracting Company – KD1.59m
• Al-Khonaini General Trading & Contracting Company – KD2.05m
• Equipment Company – KD1.29m
• Easa Husain al-Yousifi & Sons Company – KD1.81m
• Combined Group Contracting Company – KD1.89m
• ABJ Engineering and Contracting Company – KD1.21m
• Kharafi National – KD1.59m
• Salem Mohammed al-Nisf Electrical Group – KD1.74m
• Arabian Solar Energy and Technology Company – KD1.90m
• Abdullah al-Hamad Al Sagar and Brothers – KD2.43m
• Bader Al Mulla & Bros Company – KD1.28m
• Al Mukhtar Contracting & Trading Company – KD2.55m
• Sayed Hamid Behbehani & Sons – KD56,000
• Al Bashar Trading & Electrical Contracting Company – KD1.9m
• Al-Kulaib International Trading Company – KD1.23m
• Consolidated Contractors Company – KD1.55m
• Real Estate Development Company – KD2.19m
• Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al Ghanim & Sons General Trading – KD2.23m
• Nasiba Buildings General Contracting Company – KD4.32m
• Gulf Engineering Company – KD1.20m
• Al-Omara General Trading & Contracting Company – KD1.98m

According to a source at the Electricity and Water Ministry, the bids are yet to be assessed, but the bid entered by Al-Amer Electrical Company is currently the frontrunner in terms of kWh value for money.

The tender was open only to local construction entities, but each company was entitled to select their own technology provider (international or otherwise), as long as that firm has been in operation for at least 15 years.