Oman has started the procurement process for the sultanate’s first large-scale solar project.

The Oman Power & Water Company (OPWP) has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a photovoltaic (PV) solar independent power project in Ibri, which is about 300 kilometres inland from Muscat. The proposed plant with have a power generation capacity of 500 MW

OPWP says that the RFQ is for developers and is not applicable for engineering, procurement and construction contractors.

The closing date for submitting documents is the 22 February 2018.

MEED reported in early November that OPWP had appointed Germany’s Fichtner and the UK’s DLA Piper as the technical and legal advisers for the scheme. In October, MEED reported that OPWP had appointed US/India’s Synergy Consulting as financial adviser for the solar project.

The proposed IPP will be the second utility-scale renewables project planned in Oman, with the UAE’s Masdar announcing in 2014 it was planning to develop a 50MW wind farm in the southern part of the sultanate in partnership with the local Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco).

Due to a number of delays in the design and procurement phase, the developer is currently evaluating EPC proposals. Following the delays, the project is now also due to be operational in 2020.