Four line up for Oman power project

02 June 2015

Bids are due in August

  • Four out of seven prequalifiers are preparing to bid for Oman IPP project
  • Sohar 3/Ibri will be Oman’s largest IPP
  • Single developer contract will be split over two sites

Four consortiums are preparing to submit bids for the 3,200MW Sohar 3/Ibri independent power project (IPP) in August.

MEED reported in March that the Oman Power & Water Procurement Company (OPWP) had invited prequalified groups to submit bids for the contract to develop the Sohar 3/Ibri IPP.

Eleven consortiums submitted prequalification entries in August last year for the tender, and it is understood seven groups were prequalified. Out of these, four are expected to bid and are currently working on bid submissions. While most of the lead developers have finalised partners for the bidding process, there are still negotiations taking place on partners within some consortiums.

The four consortiums expected to bid will be led by the following developers:

  • GDF Suez (now called Engie) (UK/France)
  • Marubeni (Japan)
  • Mitsubishi (Japan)
  • Mitsui (Japan) / Acwa Power (Saudi Arabia)

The submission date for bids for the developer contract is 2 August.

The scheme is the largest IPP undertaken in the sultanate to date, and will be split between the two sites in Sohar and Ibri. The plants are being tendered as one developer contract, but a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed for each plant.

The IPP is part of the government’s efforts to meet rising demand for power in the Main Interconnected System (MIS), the sultanate’s main grid, and follows on from the Sur IPP, which added 2,000MW to the MIS grid when it was commissioned at the end of 2014.

According to OPWP, in its latest seven-year statement, which sets out forecasts for 2014-20, peak demand is expected to grow at an average of 10 per cent a year, from 4,455MW in 2013 to 9,133MW in 2020.

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