Canada's Deloitte & Touche is the low bidder for a contract to provide international accountancy services for the government's electricity and related water privatisation programme at RO 699,000 ($1.8 million). The other bidder, PricewaterhouseCoopers, offered RO 764,000 ($2 million).

The company selected for the contract will work alongside the government and an international advisory consortium for the unbundling and corporatisation stages of the privatisation programme. The scope of works covers development of business plans, verification of fixed and other assets for each new entity, IT advice and support, development of summary projections of financial performance, accounting policies, forms and procedures. In addition, the selected company will act as the reporting accountants at the stage of divestment (MEED 8:9:00). The client is the National Economy Ministry.

The contract for the Al-Kamil independent power project (IPP), the first in the government's fast-track power privatisation programme, was awarded to the UK's National Power on 17 July (MEED 28:7:00).

Bids submitted by Belgium's Tractebel, with France's TotalFinaElf, AES Corporation of the US and the UK's National Power, for a power and desalination plant in Barka are under evaluations.

The three were due to answer clarification on their bids by 26 September.

ABN AMRO heads the international advisory team acting as consultant in the power privatisation programme. Mott MacDonald and Denton Wilde Sapte, both of the UK, also form part of the team.