MEED magazine pointed out that the technical clarification process is currently underway for the second soil treatment project to clean up spilled oil pollutants in southern Kuwait, where the project is known as the second project for exploration, transport and treatment in southern Kuwait (SKETR-2).

The project, according to a local Arabic daily, has been divided into three areas, and the total value of the lowest three bids is $455.2 million, and the packages will treat a total of 8.5 million cubic meters of contaminated soil.

The clarification process is expected to take a month or more, as the expected contract award will give a boost to the Kuwait Projects market, which has been underperforming this year.

One of the sources said, “There is an ongoing dialogue between the lowest bidders and the Kuwait Oil Company. They are talking about the type of processes that will be used, and how they will treat different areas with different levels of pollution.”

“It is possible that areas with higher levels of pollution will require the use of soil washing techniques, while in other areas with less pollution it may be possible to treat only with bioremediation techniques.”

SKETR-2 is the third contract of its kind to be offered under Kuwait’s multi-billion dollar environmental reform program and addresses pollution in the south of the country, where there is a greater amount of contaminated soil. The deadline for submitting bids was extended several times after contractors requested more time to prepare their bids.

Originally, the contract was submitted in October 2021 by the Central Agency for Public Tenders, with the deadline for bidding on January 23, 2022. In 2021, several planned KOC tenders were postponed and canceled due to budget issues and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds for the project come from the United Nations, and should not be affected by budgetary pressures at the state-owned Kuwaiti oil companies.

Bids for two other major reform contracts, consisting of five separate packages, were submitted at the end of 2020 and awarded in 2021. The third tender will be the award of the final main contract for this phase of the reform project.

The Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Project (KERP) is the largest environmental reform project in the world and was established by the United Nations Compensation Commission to allow Kuwait to address the environmental damage caused by the 1990-1991 Gulf War.


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