RIYADH: As part of an ambitious plan to ensure adequate water supply and management, Saudi Arabia has awarded a prestigious SR985 million Arafat-Taif Water Transmission System project to Turkey’s Mapa Construction and Trade Co. The Mapa and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) signed the project only a few weeks back.
“The construction of the Arafat-Taif Water Transmission System will be supervised by the SWCC and the project will consist of a 45-km pipeline from Arafat to Taif as well as pumping stations and 12.5-km tunnels,” said Cihan Yilmaz, Mapa’s general manager, while speaking on the occasion of Turkish national day. Cihan congratulated and thanked King Salman, Saudi people and Turkish expatriates on this occasion.
In his interview, the Mapa chief also spoke about other ongoing projects including the construction of Al-Raidah Housing Complex (BP02), which is supervised by Al-Raidah Investment Company. This major housing complex project, currently being successfully executed, consists of different types of buildings a part of a 2.5-million-square-meters urban facility in Jeddah region. He also gave an overview of Mapa’s operations in the Kingdom as well as other countries across the globe.
Spelling out the details of the new Arafat-Taif Water Transmission System Project, Mapa chief said: “The pipeline will involve the construction of a 60-inch single line from PS2E near Arafat Tanks to Taif Strategic Reservoirs.”
“This section includes pipe installation in the tunnel and installation of pipe supports/fixed points,” said the Mapa chief, adding that “the project also includes laying of a second buried 60-inch line in the area upstream and downstream of the west portal.”
He pointed out that a housing compound and an administration area will be built near the SWCC Taif Terminal as part of the project. The total contract value is SR984.7 million ($262.5 million) with a contract period of 1,460 days from the date of the site’s handover, which is expected to be Nov. 5.
Asked about the details of Al-Raidah Housing Complex Project BP02, Yilmaz said that the client is Al-Raidah Investment Company. The project details, he pointed out, include all engineering, construction, supervision, material supply, tools, equipment and other services necessary for the installation, testing and commissioning and maintenance of all civil, architectural, and MEP works. This includes 74 apartment buildings of different types as per international standards.
He said that the main jobs for Al-Raidah include piling works, structure works, civil works, mechanical and electrical works, finishing works and landscaping works etc. The total contract value of this project is SR1.8 billion. He further said that 65 percent of the project has been completed and the expected completion date is Dec. 13, 2018.
On the technical capabilities of Mapa, Yilmaz said that Mapa ranks among major contractors, which provides civil and electromechanical contracting for infrastructure projects, commercial and residential buildings, power, industrial and wastewater treatment plants besides many other jobs. Mapa, he said, “has very successfully increased its footprint in the Kingdom and elsewhere in the world.”
Correction:
An earlier version of this story said in the sixth paragraph that the total contract value is SR98.4 million ($26.2 million). The correct figures are SR984.7 million ($262.5 million).
