China United Water Wins Saudi Arabia Sewage O&M Project with 442,000 m³/Day Capacity

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 24, a consortium led by Jiangsu United Water Technology Co., Ltd. received a notice of award from Saudi Arabia's National Water Company for Package 11 (Northwestern Region) of the long-term municipal sewage O&M contract. The project covers 5 sewage treatment plants across 4 cities in Madinah Province, with a total treatment capacity of 442,000 m³/day after upgrade, and a contract term of 15 years.

The 5 sewage treatment plants are Al Khalil STP-1, Al Khalil STP-2, Bader STP, Al Mahad STP, and Yanbu STP. The existing combined treatment capacity is 424,000 m³/day. The project will add 18,000 m³/day of new treatment capacity, bringing the total capacity to 442,000 m³/day after completion of the upgrade.

The scope of work includes the rehabilitation and upgrade of processes, equipment, and pipeline networks at the 5 sewage treatment plants, improvement of operational efficiency, capacity expansion, and construction of sludge drying facilities, as well as the subsequent O&M of all facilities. The 15-year operation period includes a 3-year rehabilitation phase without shutdown, during which the sewage treatment facilities must remain in continuous operation throughout the renovation and operation phases.

The project adopts the LTOM (Long-Term O&M) model, under which the winning bidder will establish and 100% own a project company. The National Water Company will pay service fees in three components: capacity revenue, output revenue, and standby revenue. Capacity revenue corresponds to capital investment and fixed operating costs, while output revenue is calculated based on variable operating costs incurred from actual treatment volumes.

According to the contract procurement agreement, the total projected revenue over the 15-year operation period is SAR 1.1406 billion. Based on the exchange rate of 1 SAR to RMB 1.7973 on August 24, this is equivalent to approximately RMB 2.050 billion.

In January this year, United Water, as the lead partner, had already formed a consortium with Armada Holding Company and Prosus Energy LLC to win Package 10 of the National Water Company's northern region long-term sewage O&M project. That project covers 9 sewage treatment plants across 4 provinces—Hail, Qassim, Al Jouf, and Northern Borders—with a total treatment capacity of 337,800 m³/day and an O&M period of 15 years.

The projected total revenue for Package 10 over the 15-year operation period is SAR 1.3056 billion, equivalent to approximately RMB 2.366 billion. Packages 10 and 11 together cover 14 sewage treatment plants with a combined treatment capacity of 779,800 m³/day, and the combined projected operating revenue for the two contracts totals SAR 2.4462 billion.