Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWPC) has issued a request for qualifications for developers wanting to compete for Oman’s first privately owned water project, reports Zawya.

The 16,000 m3/d seawater desalination plant will be located in Khasab, in Musandam Governorate, in the north of the country. The plant is intended to reduce the amount of water taken from wells, and to enable aquifer recharge.

Omani government-owned OPWPC expects the plant to be operational by 2019.

The area is currently served by a desalination plant of 450 m3/d in Kumzar, owned by Rural Areas Electricity Company; and three plants owned by Public Authority of Electricity & Water, with combined capacity of 3,500 m3/; and wells.