Saudi Arabia has retendered the Ras Mohaisen–Baha–Makkah Independent Water Transmission System (IWTS) project with state-owned Water Transmission Company (WTCO) taking over the procurement.

WTCO was established in 2019 to oversee water transmission and storage facilities across the Kingdom.

The water pipeline, initially procured by the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) as an Independent Water Transmission Pipeline (IWTP) project, had reached the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage in August 2022 with 19 firms prequalified, according to a Zawya Projects report.

WTCO issued an Expressions of Interest (EOI) invite for the rebranded Independent Water Transmission System (IWTS) project on 6 November 2024, inviting submissions for a 10-business-day period which ends on 19 November 2024.

While the total length remains unchanged at approximately 300 kilometres, the transmission capacity has been revised upwards to 515,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day) from the previous 185,000 m3/day which was rervised downwards from the initial plan of 300,000 m3/day capacity.

The project will be developed under a Design, Build, Finance, Lease, and Transfer (DBFLT) structure with a lease term of up to 35 years under a Water Transmission Development and Lease Agreement (WTDLA) with WTCO.

The project advisers are:

Lead and Financial Adviser: Synergy Consulting IFA

Legal Adviser: Clifford Chance

Technical Adviser: ILF

According to the EOI notice, the project aligns with Saudi Arabia’s National Water Strategy (NWS 2030) and Vision 2030 goals, which aim to reduce the water demand-supply gap and ensure 90 percent of urban water supply is met by desalinated water, reducing reliance on non-renewable groundwater sources. The IWTS programme is a cornerstone of these efforts, creating a potable water transmission network comprising pipelines and interim or terminal storage facilities to connect consumption centers with desalination plants.

In August 2024, Zawya Projects had reported that SWPC had received bids for the 650,000 m3/day Jubail – Buraydah IWTP project whiile RFPs issued for the 685,000 m3/day Riyadh-Qassim IWTP was issued in July 2024. Prior to that, in May 2024, the 500,000 m3/day Rayis–Rabigh IWTP project had achieved financial close in March 2024.