Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has received proposals for the main contracts covering the construction of five reservoirs in the country, as part of its $3bn Water Security Mega Reservoirs project.

Kahramaa received bids from contractors for the five main reservoirs on 18 September, and has begun the process of evaluating the bids, according to sources in Qatar.

Contractors were invited to submit bids for five separate packages – A, B, C, D and E – to build the reservoirs and associated infrastructure at the five locations planned for the schemes. The sites where the reservoirs will be located are: Umm Birka; Umm Slal; Al-Thumama; Rawdhat; Rashid; and Abu Nakhla.

The contracts will involve the construction, testing and commissioning of the reservoirs, pumping stations, pipework and the instrumentation, control and automation (ICA) works at each site.

Each reservoir site will contain up to 10 reservoir modules, which could be the largest of their type in the world. The reservoirs and pipeline network, with associated pumping stations, are planned to store up to 15 million cubic metres of potable water. The scheme has been designed to provide seven days of strategic water storage within its network, which will shore up the country’s reserve water supplies to protect against any future disruptions in supply.

The project will connect the desalination plants at Ras Laffan and Ras Abu Fontas, which will skirt the west side of Doha. The pipeline will also connect to five reservoirs on the outskirts of the capital, which will be linked by about 200 kilometres of large-diameter pipeline.

In June, Kahramaa awarded contracts to install pipes for the Water Security Mega Reservoirs project. The utility has awarded the local AlJaber Engineering a $436.7m contract to install pipelines for package C of the scheme and has selected the UAE/Australian Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) to install pipelines for packages A and B.

The concept design for the reservoirs project was completed in early 2011 by French project manager Sogreah, now part of the Artelia Group. In February 2012, Kahramaa appointed the UK’s Hyder to provide engineering and environmental consultancy services for the scheme. The scope of Hyder’s work includes pre-design studies, preliminary design, detailed design, tender procurement and construction supervision.