Doosan’s MSF proposal wins the day at Ras Azzour

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has awarded Doosan Heavy Industries the $1.76 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the world’s biggest desalination facility, after the Korean company slashed nearly $200 million from its original bid price.

The combined water and power plant at Ras Azzour in Saudi Arabia will produce 1,025,000 m3/d of desalinated water and 2,400MW of power when it is completed in January 2014.

The desalination plant will now run as a hybrid MSF/RO facility, marking a significant shift away from the MED/RO configuration outlined by the previous low bidder, the ACWA Power Sasakura/Samsung/Degrémont consortium.

Doosan originally submitted the third-lowest bid for the project, at $1.937 billion, but SWCC opted for its new lower price after asking bidders to revise their numbers.

The power element of the contract, meanwhile, has been awarded to the low bidder, a consortium comprising China’s Sepco and Al-Arrab Contracting Co.