Developers have been invited to send prequalification proposals for a public-private partnership utilities package at the Amaala project in Saudi Arabia, informs Energy & Utilities. Amaala, located along Saudi Arabia’s north western coast, will be a luxury destination aiming to demonstrate global leadership in sustainable tourism.
Amaala – which stands for “hope” in Arabic – is one of a series of mega-projects, including the Red Sea project, Neom and Qiddiya, to be located in what is being called the “Red Sea Riviera”, on the Kingdom’s western coast. The projects, under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are a hallmark of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan for economic diversification, and are financially backed by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The PPP package will comprise integrated utility infrastructure for the project, in a similar manner as the packages put out for tender for the Red Sea and Qiddiya developments. The utilities package for the Amaala project will include:
- Development of renewable energy capacity of 112MW-142MW
- Development of a reverse osmosis desalination plant to meet an expected demand of 143,000 cubic metres a day. The first phase will involve the development of 50,000 cm/d to 69,400 cm/d
- Wastewater treatment plant to treat up to 15,600 cm/d of wastewater, with the first phase planned to meet demand of 8,200 cm/d
- Waste management to meet a total demand of 96 tonnes a day, with the first phase due to cover 55 tonnes a day
- Develop district cooling capacity to meet a total demand of 72,500 refrigerated tonnes (TR), with the first phase to meet demand of 40,000 TR
The tender is expected by October of this year, with a preferred bidder selected before the end of the year. John Pagano, who has led The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) since 2018, was appointed the CEO of Amaala in January 2021.
The PPP contract to develop the utilities and infrastructure for the Red Sea development was awarded to Acwa power in November of 2020 through a competitive tender process. The PPP contract includes power and water production, wastewater treatment and solid waste management.
