The lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction contract, which is estimated to be worth up to $450m, is the first of four packages on the giant Al-Zour water distribution contract.
The three-year job involves the construction of a pumping station at Al-Zour, in the far south of the state, with a daily capacity of 250 million gallons a day (g/d), and a pumping station at Mina Abdullah with a capacity of 350 million g/d.
The client, the Ministry of Electricity & Water, is expected to take up to eight weeks to prequalify contractors before issuing tender documents. The prequalification for the other packages is set to start soon. The consultants on the scheme are Japan’s NJS Consulting Engineers and the local Al-Dawailah Engineering Consultants.
The other three packages cover four 1.6-metre-diameter, 35-kilometre-long pipelines between the two pumping stations; five pipelines of the same dimensions from the Mina Abdullah pumping station to the west Funaitees reservoir; three 1.6 metre-diameter, 15-kilometre-long pipelines between Mina al-Zour and the Al-Zour pumping station; and a single 1.2-metre diameter, 40-kilometre-long pipeline between Al-Zour and the Wafra agricultural area (MEED 13:7:07).
Kuwait is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade its water distribution infrastructure in an effort to reduce water loss and expand the supply of potable water to its fast-growing outlying residential areas.

Prequalification applicants (local unless stated):
* ABB, Europe
* Arab Contractors, Egypt
* Boustead, Singapore
* Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC)
* China Gezhouba Water & Power Company
* Darim Construction Company, South Korea
* Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, South Korea, with Mohamed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons
* Drake & Scull International, UK
* Marubeni Corporation, Japan, with Combined Group
* Passavant Roediger, Germany
* Puncak Niaga, Malaysia
* Sinohydro Corporation, Japan
* SK Engineering & Construction, South Korea, with Japan’s Hitachi and Mushrif Trading & Contracting
* Snamprogetti, Italy
* SNC Lavalin, Canada