JEDDAH, 28 June 2007 — Tawze’a, the International Company for Water Distribution, a 50/50 percent joint venture between Amiantit and CISCO, has won three water management contracts for build, operate, transfer,(BOT) projects from the Saudi Organization for the Industrial Cities and Technical Areas.
The contracts, which are scheduled to be signed at a special ceremony next month, are for three structural and operational projects in the cities of Riyadh, Qassim, and Jeddah valued at approximately SR3 billion and are to be carried out over a 30 year time period.
“The time period of 30 years for BOT projects isn’t long at all, it is actually quite standard,” Assim Al-Hakeem, a spokesman for the Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company told Arab News. “Build, operate and transfer projects like these mean that Tawze’a will be responsible for water delivery, desalination, ending in the removal of wastewater which will require the time period allotted for the projects.”
Mohammed Al-Rehaili, managing director of Tawze’a, told Arab News, “we see it as a great opportunity for the company especially coming form the joint formation between Amiantit and CISCO. It is a big responsibility to handle but with our expertise we are positive that we are the best company for the job.”
The company planned to have the water distribution system operational within the next five years, with construction on the industrial city projects beginning immediately with some other smaller aspects of the total projects beginning within the next 6-18 months depending on the projects specifications, he added. The 30-year time allotment on BOT projects is the newest form of privatization and is the first-of-its-kind, he pointed out.
The Amiantit Group, in addition to its Tawze’e joint venture with CISCO, also owns a number of internationally renowned subsidiaries companies such as the Jeddah-based subsidiary, AmiWater Holding Company which all offer turnkey services for complete water infrastructure projects. Current projects are under way in Russia, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Greece, Africa, and Thailand, to name a few.
Opened in Dammam in 1968, the Amiantit Group was established as a limited liability company and was converted into a joint stock company in 1994. It has a paid-up share capital of SR1.155 billion.