The Oman Power & Water Procurement Company’s Barka independent water project (IWP) will be financed by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corporation, the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Germany’s KfW, and France’s Credit Agricole, sources have told MEED.

The project, to be developed by Itochu (Japan), Engie (UK/France), Degremont (France) and WJ Towell (local), will also be supported by export credit agencies.

It will have a capacity of 280,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

One source added that the pricing for the US dollar loan is about 300 basis points above the London interbank offered rate (Libor).

Financial close is expected well within the first half of 2016.

The 250,000 cm/d Sohar IWP, developed by Spain’s Valoriza, local Sogex and the Oman Brunei Investment Company, is also heading for financial close.

MEED reported in December that four local banks – Bank Muscat, Oman Arab Bank, Bank Dhofar and Bank Sohar – have committed to a 20-year financing deal for the project.

The pricing is about 4.5 per cent for the Omani riyal loan, fixed for five years.

The financing for both projects is expected to reach $600m, with an 80:20 debt to equity ratio.

The expected financial close for Ibri/Sohar 3 independent power project (IPP) has been pushed back to mid-2016.

Japanese, local, and European banks are planning a $1.2bn finance deal for the project.

Japan’s Mitsui and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power were selected as preferred bidders in January. The IPP will have a capacity of 3,200MW over two sites.