en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dubai Municipality has selected the winning consortia for the first two packages of its flagship project, the Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST), and is expected to formally award the contracts shortly. Sources confirmed this to Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).
The 80 billion UAE dirham ($22 billion) public-private partnership (PPP) project comprises three packages: Package J, Package W, and the Links Package. It will involve the construction of two deep tunnels leading to pumping stations at the Warsan and Jebel Ali sewage treatment plants (STPs), along with over 200 kilometers of sewage connection pipelines.
Package W will be awarded to a consortium led by Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE), Saudi Arabia's Tamasuk Holding, and Saudi Alkhorayef Water & Power, with an estimated capital expenditure of around $3 billion. According to MEED, the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for this package includes a consortium led by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).
Package J will be awarded to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest, with participation from France's Suez Water Company, with an estimated capital expenditure of less than $2 billion. According to one source, a consortium comprising China Railway Middle East (CREC) and local company Detech Contracting will secure the EPC contract.
The bid packages for the project include equity partners, designated operators, and construction contractors. In April, the two winning consortia were asked to submit their best and final offers. A third bidding consortium, led by Australia's Plenary Group and including Japan's Itochu and UAE's Infrastructure Holding, did not submit a final offer.
The construction work for the DSST project was previously divided into multiple packages, including the Warsan Strategic Tunnel Scheme (Package W) and the Jebel Ali Strategic Sewage Scheme (J1 North, J2 South, J3 Jebel Ali Connection). However, these packages were restructured and renamed before the tenders for Packages J and W were issued last November. It is understood that the total value of the entire DSST project is approximately $22 billion, reflecting the full lifecycle cost, including capital expenditure and long-term operation.
The Phase 2 Links package, the third package under the DSST project currently being tendered, was launched in January, with a bid deadline of June 30. At least two consortia are preparing to bid for this package. The first consortium is led by EtihadWE (Etihad Water & Electricity), with EPC contractors including China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC), and China Railway 11th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. (CRCC 11), while France's Veolia will serve as the operator. According to MEED, Plenary Group will lead the second bidding consortium, while DeTech Contracting and Turkey's Kalyon Construction are also preparing to bid for the EPC works on the project.
All three packages are being procured under a 30-year design, build, finance, operate, and maintain (DBFOM) concession model. The DSST project aims to transform Dubai's sewage system from a pumped network to a gravity-flow system, enabling the emirate to replace existing sewage pumping stations and meet long-term capacity needs. The project also marks the municipality's first implementation of an "In-Country Value (ICV)" program, a localization initiative designed to promote economic benefits.
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