ETP Quotation Requirements: 8 Essential Inputs for Saudi Factories
Preparing ETP quotation requirements for a factory in Saudi Arabia starts with defining what the plant must treat and where the treated water will go. A request for a “100 m³/day ETP” leaves suppliers to assume wastewater strength, operating hours, civil works and treatment targets. Their prices may cover very different systems.
This guide helps factory owners, engineers and procurement teams prepare a request for quotation (RFQ) for an effluent treatment plant and compare offers on a common basis.
Quick answer: ETP quotation requirements in KSA
Send eight inputs: factory and process details; measured flows; representative laboratory results; discharge or reuse targets; production and cleaning schedules; site and utility information; operating responsibilities; and supply, commissioning and commercial scope. Identify missing data explicitly. Ask for a budget estimate with stated assumptions until the design basis is sufficiently verified.
Eight inputs to prepare before requesting a quotation
Use these ETP quotation requirements as one shared enquiry package, issued with the same revision date to every supplier.
1. Factory location, processes and wastewater sources
Identify the Saudi city, industrial estate, production activities, products and planned expansion. Attach a simple process diagram showing which drains carry process effluent, utility wastewater, domestic sewage and stormwater.
Separating these streams for assessment follows IFC wastewater management guidance, which recommends understanding effluent sources and segregating relevant categories. This is international engineering guidance, not a Saudi discharge approval.
2. Average flow, peak flow and discharge duration
Provide average and maximum daily volumes in m³/day, peak hourly flow in m³/hour, operating hours and batch-release volumes. Label each figure as measured, calculated or provisional. Include the meter location and recording period.
Water purchases alone may misrepresent effluent volume because water can enter products, evaporate or serve separate utilities. Explain those differences rather than assuming all incoming water reaches the ETP.
3. Laboratory results with sampling context
Laboratory evidence is central to ETP quotation requirements. Agree the test panel with the designer and laboratory: commonly biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), oil and grease, pH, temperature and conductivity or total dissolved solids (TDS), with nutrients, metals or specific chemicals where relevant.
Include sampling locations, dates, methods and production conditions. A composite sample represents a period; a grab sample represents a particular time. Some parameters require separate sampling. US EPA sampling guidance, sections 8.3.1–8.3.2, explains this distinction; use it as technical guidance alongside applicable Saudi requirements.
Illustrative calculation: At 100 m³/day and a representative COD of 1,500 mg/L, the COD load is 100 × 1,500 ÷ 1,000 = 150 kg/day. At 6,000 mg/L, it becomes 600 kg/day. Identical daily volumes can therefore carry four times the COD load. This example is not an Almasa project or a treatment guarantee.
4. The discharge destination and required water quality
Specify sewer connection, another discharge route or the intended reuse application. Attach the facility permit, receiving-network acceptance conditions and project specifications available to you. List target parameters, units and sampling points instead of writing only “Saudi compliant.”
For projects using the NCEC water-discharge permit service, published requirements include a technical study and analysis results from a licensed service provider. Confirm which approvals apply to your particular site and outlet. A supplier quotation does not replace them.
5. Production cycles, cleaning chemicals and unusual releases
Provide shift patterns, cleaning-in-place schedules, chemical safety data sheets and details of product dumps or intermittent streams. Record release volumes, timing and known temperature or pH changes. Flag planned process changes that the laboratory results do not represent.
Request a separate allowance for any additional sampling or treatability work needed before process selection. Food producers can also review Almasa’s food and beverage ETP planning guide.
6. Site layout, utilities and installation constraints
Include these practical constraints in your ETP quotation requirements: usable dimensions, ground levels, inlet depth, outlet elevation, equipment access and existing tank drawings. State available electrical supply and connection capacity rather than assuming them.
Identify indoor or outdoor installation, site design temperatures, dust exposure, nearby occupied areas and shutdown restrictions. Ask suppliers to identify foundations, lifting arrangements, cabling and interconnecting pipework excluded from their offer.
7. Operating responsibilities and residuals handling
State who will operate the plant and what training, alarms and reporting are required. Request estimated electricity, chemicals, replacement components and sludge quantities with their calculation basis and operating assumptions.
Allocate sludge storage, collection and disposal responsibilities explicitly. Specify whether you need routine servicing or wider operating support; Almasa’s annual maintenance contract services provide a relevant starting point for that discussion.
8. Supply scope, acceptance criteria and commercial terms
Request an itemised equipment schedule, installation scope, delivery programme and commissioning plan. Define the conditions for performance testing: agreed inlet range, flow, outlet targets, sampling method, test duration and responsibility for independent analysis.
Ask for prices in SAR, with VAT treatment, payment milestones, quotation validity, warranty conditions and exclusions stated separately. Agree who provides permits, civil works, utilities, initial consumables, operator training and handover documents.
Compare offers against your ETP quotation requirements
Before comparing totals, require written answers to the same questions:
| Check | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| Design basis | Same flows, pollutant loads and operating hours |
| Treatment target | Same outlet, parameters and acceptance conditions |
| Installed scope | Clear supplier and customer responsibilities |
| Operating estimate | Consumption assumptions and excluded costs |
| Open questions | Missing data, provisional allowances and resolution dates |
What are the minimum ETP quotation requirements for a Saudi factory?
Provide your factory location, process description, flow estimates, available laboratory results, intended outlet and site layout. Identify missing information and ask the supplier to state assumptions before relying on the quotation.
Can I request an ETP quotation before production starts?
Yes, as a provisional estimate based on the planned process and a documented water balance. Confirm how actual wastewater testing and production changes could affect the final design and price.
Does one discharge standard apply to every Saudi ETP?
Do not assume so. Confirm the requirements for the facility, receiving network or discharge route, intended reuse and relevant authority. State the agreed targets in the enquiry and acceptance criteria.
Should ETP quotation requirements include operation and maintenance?
Yes. Specify whether operators, servicing, chemicals, spare parts, testing and sludge handling are included or separately priced. This helps compare total responsibilities across proposals.
Discuss your ETP quotation requirements with Almasa KSA
Almasa provides industrial effluent treatment solutions. Contact the KSA team with your factory location, flow records, laboratory reports, site layout and intended outlet to discuss a proposal. Identify any missing information so the technical review can address it.
