Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has invited companies to bid for two contracts totalling over SR3.75bn ($1bn) on Yanbu-Madinah water transmission system.

The contracts cover the supply of materials and installation of phase 3 of the transmission system. For estimated SR2.6bn pipelaying and construction contract, companies have been invited to bid by 30 November.

Bidders can choose to carry out all or a combination of three packages. The first package involves the construction of 184.7 kilometres of 76-inch pipeline, a 16.8km 48-inch pipeline, a 56.9km 36-inch pipeline, a 2.7km 60-inch pipeline, a 1.3km 24-inch pipeline and a 15.4km 24-inch pipeline.

The second contract covers two feeder lines, the 93.8km Madinah Hanakiyah Feeder Line and the 316.8km Madinah Mahd Feeder Line.

The third package is for the construction, supply and installation of all equipment for four pumping stations and the power supply together with control and communications systems for the entire project .

Companies planning to bid in a consortium must receive approval from SWCC before submitting their proposals.

For the estimated SR1.3bn supply contract, SWCC has invited suppliers to bid by 1 November for 604.8 kilometres of pipeline.

The successful bidder will supply steel pipes without coating or lining ranging in diameter from 76 inches to 12 inches over an 18-month period with the first delivery scheduled for first six months after the contract award date.

Austria-based advisers ILF Consulting Engineers are advising SWCC on this and its other water pipeline projects. 

In 2008 SWCC tendered the contract to build the world’s largest water pipeline, running from Dammam to Riyadh. The cost of that project was SR7bn (MEED 10:10:08).