Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

Two developers have submitted bids for the 1.2GW Sitra independent water and power plant (IWPP), according to details published by Bahrain’s Tender Board.

The offers were made by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Saudi Arabia's Acwa. The technical element of the bid was opened on 18 June.

The Sitra IWPP is a combined-cycle gas turbine plant and is expected to have a generation capacity of about 1,200MW of electricity. The project’s seawater reverse osmosis desalination facility will have a production capacity of 30 million imperial gallons a day. 

The build, own and operate project is being procured by Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) under a public-private partnership framework for 20-25 years.

According to a source, "evaluation will be done on technical bids and put up to a tender board for approval".

Financials will be opened only after the technical element has been approved.

Other major IWPP projects in the region have also recorded relatively low bidder particpation in recent weeks, reflecting the level of investment required for such projects.

Earlier this month, MEED reported that just two bids had been received for the first phase of Kuwait’s Al-Khairan IWPP project.

Three consortiums and two individual companies had previously prequalified to participate in the tender.

In 2024, Bahrian's EWA received statements of qualifications from nine firms interested in bidding for the Sitra IWPP. Seven international companies and consortiums were then prequalified to bid last year.

Sitra grid works

Meanwhile, firms are still awaiting awards for two separate contracts related to the establishment of new Sitra 400kV grid substations.

The first contract involves transformer and reactor works for the establishment of the substations.

Switzerland-headquartered Hitachi Energy submitted the lowest bid of BD17.8m ($47.1m). Germany’s Siemens Energy submitted an offer of BD23.9m ($63.2m).

The second contract involves 400kV and 220kV feeder cable works for the same Sitra 400kV grid substations. Three South Korean companies previously bid for the contract.

Bids for both contracts were opened in March.

In September, Siemens Energy won a contract worth BD48.1m ($127m) to build a 400kV transmission substation in Sitra to provide the transmission link for the planned Sitra IWPP.

READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes: