Local utility provider Marafiq is planning to invite developers to prequalify for an independent water & power project (IWPP) at Duqm economic zone in Oman.

According to sources close to the scheme, the client is preparing to invite developers to prequalify for the IWPP by the end of March. The proposed project is likely to have a power generation capacity of about 170MW and a desalination component of 8.5 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

The IWPP is a vital project in providing power and water for the planned Duqm refinery. MEED recently reported that bidding consortiums had submitted prices for the two main EPC packages on the greenfield refinery, which will be the largest single-phase downstream project undertaken in the country.

Marafiq is a joint venture between Takamul Investment Company, a subsidiary of Oman Oil Company, which holds a 65 per cent stake, and Sembcorp Utilities, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries, which holds the remaining 35 per cent.

The utility company was set up to provide centralised utilities for the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will be one of the sultanate’s major logistics and economic hubs.