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Saudi Arabia’s Neom has completed the technical evaluation of the proposals for the Trojena dams. The client and the selected contractors are now negotiating the commercial aspects of the project.

Earlier this year, Neom engaged three contractors on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis. They include a consortium of Saudi Arabia-based Al-Ayuni with Turkiye-headquartered Limak, Beijing-based PowerChina and Italy’s WeBuild.

The ECI process requires selected contractors to submit methodologies for the project and a design proposal. After evaluating the proposals, Neom will select one contractor for the 26-month contract.

Constructing three dams together could cost about $2bn. The structures will be used to create the central lake at the Trojena mountain resort that will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

The main dam will have a height of 145 metres and will be 475 metres long at its crest. It will be built using 2.7 million cubic metres of roller compact concrete (RCC).

Some 650,000 cubic metres of RCC will be used to build a dam within the planned lake to create an island below the water level. This kidney-shaped dam will have a height of 38 metres and will be 700 metres long. It will be connected to the nearby Lake Village by an underwater tunnel. The landscaping and other attractions within the dam are known as the Enchanted Forest.

The third dam will have a height of 65 metres and will be 490 metres long at its crest. It will be constructed using 4.15 million cubic metres of rockfill. The works also include the lakebed line and the foundations for the Bow Building, a concrete structure at the end of the lake that will overhang the valley below and incorporate a hotel.

The engineer for the lake is Singapore’s Surbana Jurong. The executive programme manager is the US’ Aecom. US-based Bechtel was awarded the contract to provide project management consultancy services for the Trojena development at the end of last year.

In October, Neom awarded an SR4.5bn ($1.2bn) infrastructure development contract at Trojena to a joint venture of the local Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting and Turkish Limak Holding.

The contract scope covers the construction of a tunnel and freight depot, and excavation works at Trojena, which is 50 kilometres from Saudi Arabia’s Gulf of Aqaba coast.

The bids for the civil and mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, controls and automation contract were submitted in May. 

The so-called Neom Time Travel tunnel extends 4.4km and includes twin-bored tunnels with two ventilation shafts and an at-grade section.