Oman Power & Water Company (OPWP) has issued a request for qualification (RFQ) to developers for an independent water project (IWP) at Al-Ghubrah. Responses are due in by 7 November.

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

OPWP awarded a RO656,000 ($1.7m) contract to a consortium of the UK’s KPMG and SNR Denton and Germany’s Fichtner in March to advise on the plant (MEED 31:3:11).

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

A UK-based consortium of Ernst & Young, DLA Piper and British Power International was appointed to advise on the Al-Ghubrah IWPP, but were transferred to the Sur independent power project (IPP) in July 2010.