Developers prepare to submit bids for Oman independent water project

20 June 2012

Desalination project to have a capacity of 42 million gallons a day

Developers are preparing to submit financial bids to build an independent water project (IWP) at Al-Ghubrah. Bids are due by 9 July.

Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP) is completing the technical evaluation of the proposals. It prequalified the following groups in March:

  • Cobra (Spain), Inima (Spain) and Zubair Corporation (Oman)
  • Hyflux (Singapore), Mitsui (Japan) and Sarooj Construction (Oman)
  • Marubeni (Japan), National Power & Water Company (Oman) and Oman Oil (Oman)
  • Valoriza (Spain), Septech (UAE) and Brookfield Multiplex (Canada)
  • Acciona Agua (Spain), Samsung Engineering (South Korea) and Sogex (Oman)
  • Malakoff (Malaysia), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) and Cadagua (Spain)
  • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain), Aqualia (Spain) and Orascom (Egypt)

A preferred bidder is expected to be announced by October, with an award made in November. The winning developer will need to complete the project within 22 months of notice to proceed.

The desalination project will have a capacity of 42 million gallons a day (g/d) of water. The reverse-osmosis plant will help the sultanate meet growing water demand requirements in the Muscat region.

OPWP is being advised by KPMG Oman, the UK’s SNR Denton and Germany’s Fichtner on the project.

The project was originally to be developed as an independent water and power project, but the power component of the project was dropped in June 2010 due to environmental concerns associated with the site.

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.