Dubai Municipality (DM) is expected to award the main construction contract for Phase 2 of the AED 1.5 billion ($408 million) Jebel Ali Sewage Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) before the end of this year or early 2016, according to a senior official with DM.
“The main construction tender was floated in May with a submission deadline of 16 September 2015. We hope to award the contract before the end of this year or in early 2016,” said Abdulla Rafia, assistant director-general for engineering and planning at DM. The scope of works includes the electromechanical, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. He added that construction works will start immediately with commissioning scheduled for 2020.
In December 2013, DM floated the tender invite for Phase 2, during the second half of 2014. Eng. “We will launch the tender invite in the second half of 2014. In August, we will get into the prequalification stage and will get the submissions from the shortlisted bidders by the end of 2014,” said Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality.
The 375,000 cubic metre per day (m3/d) facility is being designed by US-based Aecom. Located on 670 hectares to the south of Jebel Ali, it will be one of the largest SWTP in the world and will serve the new Al Maktoum Airport and the Expo 2020 area, which will host an ultimate population of 4.5 million (1200ML/d flow) over the next 25 years. The existing Jebel Ali SWTP or Phase 1 is a 300,000 m3/d facility, commissioned in 2010 to serve the rapidly growing west Dubai area, which houses more than half of the emirate’s 2.1 million population. The project will see three additional phases with each phase serving 1.1 million people.
The remaining two phases will be commissioned in 2025 and 2030 respectively. Meanwhile, the official said that DM is planning to invest AED20 billion ($5.4 billion) in various sewage projects in Dubai over the next 10 years.
“We are planning to invest AED2 billion ($544.5 million) in sewage projects in Dubai every year as per the master plan for [the sector in] the next decade.”
