Evaluation of prequalification bids for $2bn Bahrain Metro project underway
Transport and Telecommunications Minister says the evaluation process will be concluded by the end of July 2022
Bahrain’s Transport and Telecommunications Minister, Mohammed Al Kaabi, has said that evaluation of the prequalification bids submitted by top infrastructure majors for Bahrain Metro Phase One project will conclude by the end of July.
According to a report by Akhbar Al Khaleej, Al Kaabi said that the Bahrain Metro is being implemented in four phases with the first comprising two lines running 29km-long, covering 20 stations. He added that a technical team is currently studying bids for Phase One, which is set to conclude by the month end.
The project represents the first phase of the Bahrain government’s plan to develop a 109km rail based urban transit network, which will consist of an elevated corridor with two lines having an estimated length of 28.6km, 20 stations and two interchanges.
The report added that a total of 11 leading global infrastructure majors – including French mobility giant Alstom, Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Indian construction conglomerate Larsen and Toubro (L&T) are in the race for Phase One of the Bahrain Metro System.
In March, authorities said that significant progress had been made on a $107mn key highway expansion project.
Other companies competing for the contract include China’s Harbour Engineering and China Railway Group, Plenary Asia (Singapore); Virtue Global Holding (UK) and CRRC (Hong Kong) Company. Egypt’s Orascom Construction has also been credited with an interest. Bahrain’s utility majors – Aradous Energy Generation Company and Taqi Mohammed Albaharana Trading Establishment – are also interested in the project, it added.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication will look to procure the project as an integrated public private partnership (PPP) through a two-stage process comprising a prequalification followed by the main tender process.
The selected private partner will implement the project on a DBFOMT (design, build, finance, operate, maintain, transfer) basis with a contract period of 35 years, the report said.
It is estimated that the total cost of the Metro Project will be around $2bn. It aims to provide a fast, comfortable, reliable, sustainable and modern transportation system in the kingdom, thus improving the standards of living, the ministry has stated.
In April, Diyar Al Muharraq announced the completion of infrastructure works on the Southern Island within its integrated residential city, while in July, EDAMAH invited bids for a 20,717sqm mixed-use investment project in the Kingdom.
