Kuwait has selected six international firms to compete for the $100m-plus contract to build new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling facilities in the north of the emirate.

State-run Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), which oversees the distribution of the country’s LPG and crude oil, is the client on the deal, which contractors value at around $100-150m.

The company has chosen South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering & Construction, Larsen & Toubro of India, Ireland’s Kentz Overseas, Italy’s Saipem, France’s Entrepose Contracting, and Canada’s SNC Lavalin to bid on the scheme.

The winner will take on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to build LPG bottling facilities at Umm al-Aish, to the north of Kuwait City. The facilities will include six LPG storage tanks, a series of pumps and compressor stations, and three production lines each capable of filling 1,600 bottles weighing 12kg every hour.

KOTC will hold a meeting with the prequalified firms on 18 November to explain the project and answer any queries over individual details. It has set a  25 January 2010 deadline for final bids on the deal.

The sheme was announced on 25 October, marking the third time it has been tendered in as many years; it was first tendered in 2006 and then in 2008 (MEED 7:7:09). Contractors do not know why the deal has taken so long to award, and KOTC was not available for comment on the project.