Saudi Arabia's state water offtaker Sharakat has received bids for the contract to develop the $150m Riyadh East independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP), with offers submitted on 28 September, according to a report published 27 September by MEED.
Key takeaways
- Sharakat received bids for the $150m Riyadh East ISTP on 28 September, with five consortiums submitting offers (MEED).
- The plant will treat 200,000 m³/day in its first phase, scaling to 500,000 m³/day in phase two (MEED).
- The project will run under a 25-year build-own-operate-transfer concession and is targeted for commercial operation in 2029 (MEED).
- WSP is acting as technical adviser and KPMG Middle East as lead and financial adviser on the procurement (MEED).
- Sharakat prequalified 53 companies for the Riyadh East ISTP in 2024 as part of seven ISTP projects planned for procurement between 2024 and 2026 (MEED).
What happened
The Riyadh East ISTP is one of seven planned ISTP procurements Sharakat has said it will run between 2024 and 2026, and follows the prequalification of 53 companies in 2024 and a request for proposals issued last October (MEED). The facility will be developed under a build-own-operate-transfer model with a 25-year concession term, and the targeted commercial operation date is 2029 (MEED). WSP is the technical adviser and KPMG Middle East is the lead and financial adviser on the deal (MEED).
Bids for the contract were submitted on 28 September, with five consortiums making offers and at least two other potential consortiums understood to have decided not to bid (MEED). The contract value reported for the project is $150m, and the first-phase treatment capacity is 200,000 m³/day, rising to 500,000 m³/day in the second phase (MEED). The same report notes that "Saudi Arabia's water PPP market has grown into one of the most structured and well-governed sectors for global developers, underpinned by institutional reforms, legal frameworks and digital tools that have systematically reduced the barriers to market entry" (MEED).
| Parameter | Reported value |
|---|---|
| Contract value | $150m |
| Phase 1 capacity | 200,000 m³/day |
| Phase 2 capacity | 500,000 m³/day |
| Concession term | 25 years (BOOT) |
| Targeted commercial operation | 2029 |
| Bidders | 5 consortiums (28 September) |
| Advisers | WSP (technical); KPMG Middle East (lead/financial) |
Specification read
At 200,000 m³/day in phase one, the Riyadh East ISTP sits firmly in the 200 MLD band, scaling to 500 MLD in phase two on the same site — a step-change most procurement teams see only when a greenfield site is carved out of a long master plan. The bidding and award now underway cover the build-own-operate-transfer concession through to 2029 commercial operation, so the package that gets priced in the next few months is the full treatment train and 25 years of operation, not a stand-alone equipment buy.
A plant of this class in a hot-arid Saudi context will require screening and grit removal, primary clarification, a biological stage sized for high mixed-liquor activity (typically A2O or MBR given the effluent-reuse driver, with MBBR and SBR as alternatives on phased builds), followed by tertiary filtration, disinfection (chlorination or UV) and, given Saudi reuse regulations, a polishing/reverse-osmosis block. This Sharakat award sits upstream of those process choices — it is the concession decision that fixes who will then specify, supply and integrate that train.
For an operator or engineer reading this: if your facility is in the 150–250 MLD range handling domestic sewage with a discharge or reuse limit driving biological nutrient removal and tertiary polish, the Riyadh East award is the lead indicator for the package pricing, BOO risk allocation and OEM shortlist you will see on the next Saudi ISTP in your catchment. Equipment vendors competing for a share of that 500 MLD build should be preparing submittal packs now against the 2029 operation target, since long-lead biological-reactor and membrane skids typically have to be locked 12–18 months ahead of mechanical completion. The municipal water sector in Saudi Arabia is treated in more detail on the Industries We Serve hub, while the standard biological-to-tertiary train for plants of this scale is covered under Municipal and the packaged Integrated Sewage Treatment reference. For a domestic-sewage reference build on a similar Saudi scale, see the Effluent Treatment Plant in Abha: 2026 Engineering & Buyer's Guide and the Effluent Treatment Plant in Yanbu: 2026 Engineering & Buyer's Guide.
FAQ
What is the headline contract value of the Riyadh East ISTP? The contract to develop the plant is reported at $150m, with five consortiums bidding on offers submitted 28 September (MEED).
What treatment capacity is being procured in phase one, and when is it due to operate? Phase one capacity is 200,000 m³/day, expanding to 500,000 m³/day in phase two, with a targeted commercial operation date of 2029 (MEED).
Who are the advisers running the procurement? WSP is the technical adviser and KPMG Middle East is the lead and financial adviser on the ISTP deal (MEED).
How does this award fit into Sharakat's wider pipeline? The Riyadh East ISTP is part of seven ISTP projects Sharakat has said it will procure between 2024 and 2026, with 53 companies prequalified in 2024 (MEED).
