The Oman Power & Water Procurement Company issued a request for proposals to prequalified bidders on 4 March 2012 for a build-own-operate contract for the construction of a desalination-based independent water project (IWP) in Al Ghubrah with a capacity of 42 MIGD (191,000 m³/d).
The Oman Daily Observer reported on 4 March 2012 that seven companies had been shortlisted from the 14 that had applied for prequalification.
The project will use seawater reverse-osmosis technology to produce potable water for transmission and distribution in the Governorate of Muscat. While the plant will not have any co-located electricity generation facilities, electricity will be supplied through the power grid.