Oman’s Centralised Utilities Company (CUC) has invited consultants to submit bids for the engineering and project management contract for a combined power and water desalination plant at the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on the eastern coast of the sultanate.

The planned power plant will have a power capacity of 300-400MW and a c (RO) component of 8-8.5 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD). The power and desalination facility will provide electricity and water for the Oman Oil Company (OOC) and its affiliated companies.

Through the tender, the client, CUC, is seeking a consultant to act as the owner’s engineer for technical consultancy services up until the plant begins commercial operation. 

The client is planning to appoint an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor through an open tender process to build the plant on a lump-sum turnkey (LST) basis. The client is targeting full commercial operation of the plant by the fourth quarter of 2018.

While the primary fuel has not yet been specified, companies will be requested to submit proposals for a plant that can run on an alternative backup fuel.

In its latest seven-year report, Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) stated that it had been considering developing an independent power project (IPP) in Duqm but had dropped plans for the near future due to the Gas Ministry having notified the utility that there was not sufficient gas supply for the project.

MEED reported in January that Oman was reconsidering using coal for power generation for the second time, having dropped previous plans to use the fuel due to environmental concerns.

According to utility sources in the sultanate, OOC was carrying out initial inhouse feasibility studies about the possibility of using coal for a major power plant at the town of Duqm as part of efforts to diversify the country’s power generation resources.

OPWP expects peak electricity demand in the Duqm area to grow at 19 per cent a year, driven by the residential and commercial developments associated with Duqm SEZ. This would bring demand from 19MW in 2014 to 65MW in 2021, excluding Duqm SEZ.

Currently demand is met by a 67MW diesel-fired power plant owned and operated by the Rural Areas Electricity Company.