Two new water projects to bolster Oman’s desalination capacity

MUSCAT, APRIL 17

The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the sole national buyer of power and water output, is firming up plans for the procurement by competitive tender of two new Independent Water Projects (IWP) to meet demand growth.

One of these projects is planned for development in North Al Batinah Governorate. Dubbed ‘North Batinah IWP’, the proposed 150,000 m3/day capacity project (equivalent to 33 million imperial gallons per day MIGD), is targeted for commercial launch in 2029.

According to state-owned OPWP — part of Nama Group, North Batinah IWP was first initiated for procurement in 2018 but was the process was paused after the completion of the prequalification stage.

“The project was suspended pending confirmation of the demand as well as the site allocation. As per the latest forecast, it is expected that around (11 MIGD) of water is required by 2028 and the SCOD (Scheduled Commercial Operation Date) for the full capacity is planned for 2029,” the OPWP stated.

A similar sized IWP is also planned in Dhofar Governorate.

Although first initiated in 2019, the procurement process for the ‘Dhofar Water 2026 IWP’ is proposed to be revived with the issuance of a Request for Proposals (RfP) tentatively planned during the second quarter of this year. The timeline however is still subject to confirmation of site allocation among other approvals, the procurer said. Based on the provisional timelines, bids for either project are due in by Q4 2023 with awards anticipated in Q1 2024.