Source: www.meed.com
Competition for Mecca metro contracts heats up as Turkish firms dominate the field in the prequalification round.
Bidding for the first phase of civil works for the multibillion-dollar Mecca metro project is set to provide tough competition for participating consortiums, with 10 groups invited to bid for two packages.
The prequalification of 10 consortiums for two packages contrasts with prequalification of four groups for five contracts worth $22.5bn for the Riyadh Metro in 2013. Competition for the two contracts will mainly come from Turkey; six of the 10 prequalified groups contain at least one Turkish firm.
The concentration of Turkish contractors for the Mecca project is due to two factors: first, to work in Mecca, at least one Muslim-owned company is preferred; second, major Turkish contractors were absent from the bidding process for the Riyadh Metro. Most major international firms on the Riyadh scheme did not participate in prequalification for the Mecca project, due to their rail commitments in the kingdom’s capital. More info
