Oman Power and Water Company (OPWP) has received nine responses to its request for qualification (RFQ) to build a 1,500MW independent power project (IPP) at Sur.

The following companies responded to the RFQ:

• Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
• Mitsui & Company (Japan)
• Acwa Power International (Saudi Arabia)
• Saudi Oger (Saudi Arabia)
• AES Oasis (US)
• Sembcorp Utilities (Singapore)
• The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Japan)
• Procomon & Asociados (Panama)
• Enka (Turkey)

OPWP will decide on companies that will be prequalified and inform them of the decision by 17 November.

Developers have until 27 December for technical submissions for the scheme, an extension of the previous deadline of 30 November. OPWP has also adjusted the final bid submission date from 5 March to 7 March.

The winning bidder will bring 400MW power capacity online by the summer of 2013 to help the country meet its peak demand during the hot months. Full commissioning is scheduled by the following summer.

OPWP had originally intended to build an independent water and power project (IWPP) at Al-Ghubrah to take advantage of existing infrastructure in the area and allow the older plant at the site to be retired. Due to environmental impact issues associated with the Al-Ghubrah site and its proximity to residential areas in Muscat, OPWP decided to cancel the Al-Ghubrah IWPP in favour of a facility at Sur.

Sur is located south of the capital on the coastline and offers a large area, which is ready for construction and access to an existing pipeline that feeds the Oman LNG plant operating on the outskirts of the site. Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) is already implementing projects to reinforce the transmission system around Sur, which will allow power to be exported to the Main Interconnected System, the grid which serves most of Oman.

The advisory team that was selected to work on the shelved Al-Ghubrah plant was transferred to the Sur IPP in July. The team is made up of the UK’s Ernst & Young, DLA Piper, British Power International and Glen House Capital Strategies.