Oman calls for tenders to build its largest desalination plant

Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has opened pre-qualification for the selection of a private developer to build Oman’s biggest independent water desalination project with a capacity of 531,000 m³/d.

OPWP has called for request for qualification (RfQ) tenders for the project, which will be located across two sites. The last date for submitting the RfQ is February 26. OPWP is expected to invite bids from the pre-selected firms for building the project.

OPWP recently floated another tender inviting bids from consultancies for a study to identify the best seawater intake and outfall location for the proposed independent water project.

The new project, which is at an early planning stage is to provide more potable water in the country’s northern region where demand is projected to grow by 6% a year in tover the next seven years, from 238 million m³ a year in 2013 to 349 million m³ a year in 2020. Last year the OPWP’s seven-year forecasts for average annual growth was 3-5%. A combination of population growth and industrial development, including tourism projects, is cited as a major reason for the growth in demand for potable water.