The local Sohar Aluminium is preparing to tender the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the $2.4bn phase two expansion at its smelter complex in Oman.

The tenders are due to be issued in July, with submissions due for October and the winning contractors announced in December. Prequalification is expected to start early in the second quarter of 2012.

“This will be the largest non-hydrocarbons project in Oman this year,” says a contracting source in Muscat. “A lot of the budget is taken up by technology but there should still be some decent packages available for [EPC] contractors.”

The phase two expansion is expected to double the capacity of the current plant, taking it up to 720,000 tonnes a year when full commissioning of the new facilities is completed in 2016.

The expansion of Sohar Aluminium has taken longer than initially anticipated, with issues such as a shortage of gas in Oman cited as being behind for the delay.    

Oman Oil and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) each own 40 per cent of Sohar Aluminium, while Australian/Canadian Rio Tinto Alcan owns the remaining 20 per cent.  

MEED reported in January that Oman is expecting a raft of projects to enter the tender phase in 2012 across industrial sectors, such as metals (MEED 19:1:12).