Dubai Municipality has issued the request for proposals for the first two contracts of the $22bn Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) project.

At least four companies have been prequalified as lead members of potential consortiums that can bid for the contracts.

MEED previously reported that the firms that have been prequalified as lead members for the project’s four main tunnels and links packages include Ajman-based Etihad Water & Electricity, a team comprising Japan’s Itochu and Australian investment firm Plenary, and Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest.

Belgium’s Besix is also understood to be among those prequalified to bid as a developer lead member.

According to industry sources, the Plenary-Itochu consortium will likely include South Korea’s Samsung C&T and Italy’s Webuild.

MEED previously reported that the EPC team of Abu Dhabi’s National Marine Dredging Company and India’s Afcons Infrastructure, and separately PowerChina, are understood to be engaged in final talks with either the Vision Invest or Etihad Water & Electricity consortiums, although it had also been suggested that Vision Invest and Etihad Water & Electricity could bid as one team.

The same source said that Japan’s Marubeni and Saudi Arabia’s AlJomaih Water & Energy might also still be considering bidding for the contracts.

MEED understands bids are due on 30 September for packages J1 and W.

Packages J1 and W will be tendered together as separate contracts first, followed by J2 and J3, with the requests for proposals to be issued sequentially, staggered about six to 12 months apart.

The first package, J1, comprises Jebel Ali tunnels (North) and terminal pump stations (TPS). The tunnels will extend approximately 42 kilometres (km), and the links will extend 10km. 

The other package, W for Warsan, comprises 16km of tunnels, TPS and 46km of links.

The overall project will require a capital expenditure of about AED30bn ($8bn), while the whole-life cost over the full concession terms of the entire project is estimated to reach AED80bn.

DSST packages

Under the current plan, the $22bn DSST project is broken down into six packages, which will be tendered as PPP packages with concession periods lasting between 25 and 35 years.

In addition to J1 and W, J2 covers the southern section of the Jebel Ali tunnels and will extend 16km and have a link stretching 46km.

J1, J2, W and J3 will comprise the deep sewerage tunnels, links and TPS (TLT) components of the overall project.

J1, J2 and W will be procured under a design, build, finance, operate and maintain model with a concession period of 25-35 years.

J3 will be procured under a design, build and finance model with a concession period of 25-35 years. Once completed, Dubai Municipality will operate J3, unlike the first three packages, which are planned to be operated and maintained by the winning PPP contractors.  

The project’s remaining two packages entail expanding and upgrading the Jebel Ali and Warsan sewage treatment plants. MEED understands that these packages will be procured at a later stage.