Saudi generation and desalination firm, ACWA Power Barka has won a contract with Oman Power and Water Procurement (OPWP) to build a second seawater reverse osmosis plant at Barka 60km from the Omani capital, Muscat.
The 57,000 m³/d plant will be the Saudi firm’s second phase of expansion at its Barka 1 site. The first – a 45,500 m³/d addition – took the Barka plant output to 136,000 m³/d when ACWA started commercial supply from from it in May this year.
According to OPWP, it expects to be taking water from the second phase plant from October 2015. ACWA Power has said it will continue to negotiate an extension of the power and water purchase agreement with OPWP. It currently has a 15-year supply agreement with the Omani company
OPWP has calculated that water demand in the north of the sultanate will increase by 6% a year from 238 million m³ in 2013 to 349 million m³ in 2020.