A consortium of India’s VA Tech Wabag, the local Bahwan Contracting Company and Norway’s Aqualyng has submitted the lowest price for the contract to design and build a desalination plant at Sohar Industrial Port Area (SIPA) in Oman.

The consortium’s bid of RO22.7m ($59m) was about 6 per cent lower than the second lowest price of $63m, submitted by Spain’s Abeinsa Infraestructuras.

Local Majis Industrial Services, the manager of SIPA, received bids for the 28,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) reverse osmosis plant in late 2014. It will supply Oman International Petrochemical Industries Company (OMPET) and Takamul with part of the 40,000cm/d of water required for their plastics plants, which are expected to be commissioned early in 2017.

The full list of bidders and prices are:

• VA Tech Wabag/Bahwan Contracting Company/Aqualyng – $59m
• Abeinsa – $63m
• Veolia Water Middle East (France) - $72m
• Tedagua (Spain)/Galfar Engineering & Contracting (local) (JV) - $72m
• Hyflux (Singapore) - $77m
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) - $79m
• Acciona Aqua (Spain)/Larson & Toubro (India) - $91m
• Cadagua (Spain)/ Towell Infrastructure Projects (Local) - $102m

The remaining 12,000cm/d will be supplied by an industrial wastewater treatment plant at SIPA. In November 2014, seven companies prequalified to bid for the EPC contract.