Bids were submitted by the local Acwa Power Projects and Korean Electric Power Corporation (Kepco); Belgium’s Suez Energy International with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation; and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation with Malaysia’s Malakoff International and the local Aljomaih Automotive Company.

The Suez consortium submitted a price of SR0.18191 ($0.05) a kWh and SR3.61789 a cubic metre of desalinated water. South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries is the group’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The Sumitomo team bid SR0.1036 a kWh of power and SR4.1384 a cubic metre of desalinated water. South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Italy’s Fisia Italimpianti are the group’s power and water EPC contractors respectively.

The Acwa Power-led consortium submitted an offer of SR0.1013 a kWh and SR4.4978 a cubic metre of water. Kepco is the EPC contractor.

WEC expects to announce the preferred bidder by the end of September 2008 after which it will enter into negotiations with the chosen consortium. A power and water purchase agreement (PWPA) is due to be signed in the fourth quarter of the year.

The winning consortium will take a 60 per cent in the Ras al-Zour project company, which will build, own and operate. The Public Investment Fund will hold 32 per cent with the remaining 8 per cent to be owned by Saudi Electricity Company. The project company will sell its output to WEC under a 20 year PWPA.

HSBC is WEC’s financial consultant and coordinating adviser and Clifford Chance and Al Jadaan Law Firm are the legal advisers on the project. Germany’s Fichtner is the technical consultant.