Dubai Municipality is planning to more than double the capacity of the existing Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP), which will increase the total capacity to 675,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d),

The municipality has issued a pre-tender briefing document for the Jebel Ali STP second phase, which sets out plans to increase the capacity of the existing 300,000 cm/d Jebel Ali plant phase 1 by 375,000 cm/d, bringing the total capacity of the site to 675,000 cm/d.

The Phase 2 project will utilise the existing infrastructure and roads that serve the first phase. Phase 2 will use some of the existing facilities serving phase 1, such as the mosque, administration building, labour accommodation and associated facilities. The Jebel Ali STP facility is located on a 670 hectare site to the south of the Jebel Ali-Lahbab Road and to the east of Emirates Road.

The construction contract will include a provisional option for one year operation and maintenance (O&M) of the entire STP, phases 1 and 2.

Contractors will be required to submit tender proposals in three parts. The first part will be the prequalification proposal, the second stage the technical proposal and the third stage the commercial proposal.

Dubai Municipality’s decision to move ahead with plans to more than double the capacity of the Jebel Ali sewage site is part of its efforts to expand and upgrade Dubai’s wastewater network.

MEED reported in December that the municipality is planning to build a deep-sewer tunnel and network in the Deira area of the emirate, similar to the Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (STEP) under way in Abu Dhabi.

Plans for the project are still in the very early stages of development, with feasibility studies yet to be completed. As a result, details on the size and capacity of the planned tunnel and network have not been finalised, but, according to sources interested in the scheme, the tunnel will be a significant undertaking for the municipality.

Following the completion of initial studies, MEED understands that the municipality will tender a preliminary engineering contract for the project, which will involve providing about 30 per cent of the design for the scheme.