Work on a $200 million (BD75.6 million) sewage treatment plant in Muharraq could begin as early as next June, it has been announced.

The facility, said to be the first of its kind in Bahrain, is expected to take up to 42
months to complete and will have the capacity to serve 265,000 people.

The project has been put out to tender on a 27-year Build Own and Operate contract, with bidders given a January 20 deadline.

The signing of the agreement with the winning bidder is scheduled for June and work is
expected to start within weeks of the announcement.

The involvement of the private sector is in line with the need for financial and technical expertise, according to Works Ministry assistant under-secretary for sewerage networks Khalifa Al Mansour.

'We need a contractor that has financial and technical abilities to build and operate the
project,' he said.

Al Mansour was speaking on the sidelines of a Press conference held for prospective
bidders to explain the project's technical and environmental elements, at the Finance
Ministry, Manama, yesterday.

The Muharraq Sewage Treatment Plant and Sewer Conveyance System project will serve residential areas in the governorate.

As part of the project, a 15-km-long deep gravity sewer and wastewater connection network will allow for the decommissioning of 24 wastewater pumping stations.

'The project is strategic for Bahrain's privatisation programme,' said Al Mansour.

'It is also an extremely important transaction for the GCC water and wastewater
sector, representing the first such project in the market with a large network component
involved.'

The plant is expected to treat 100,000 cubic metres of sewage per day. It will have the capacity to reach 160,000 cubic metres and the ability to cope with 265,000 people with provision for future expansion.

'Choosing the best bidder will not only rely on the overall cost, but also on the best technique for treating the sewage,' said Al Mansour.

The project is a collaborative partnership between the Works and Finance ministries as well as the Economic Development Board.

The assistant under-secretary revealed that the Works Ministry was considering privatising Tubli Sewage Treatment Plant.

'We are looking on assigning a consultant to study the project's development and expansion,' he said.

The project would involve the same technique used in the Muharraq sewage treatment plant, using wastewater connection network to serve Manama and neighbourhoods near Tubli.

'Privatising engineering services in Bahrain comes in line with the government's policy to involve the private sector,' said Al Mansour.

Bidders from various companies and representatives from the project's financial consultants HSBC Middle East, legal consultants Norton Rose, technical consultants Fichtner and the Central Planning Office were present at the Press conference.-TradeArabia News Service