Oman plans large water desalination project

Oman is planning to develop another water desalination facility, with a combined capacity to produce 52.6 million imperial gallons per day (240,000 cubic metres per day).

The project, which is part of a series of new water desalination plants planned by the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), will come up across three different sites, according to a tender document.

OPWP,the sole procurer of new power generation and water desalination capacity, has floated a request for qualification (RfQ) tender seeking applications from multinational developers. The RfQ document will be available for purchase until December 21 and the last date for submitting bids is January 17, 2016.

The floating of RfQ for a water project comes close on the heels of similar projects initiated in Barka, Sohar, Salalah and Sharqiya.

According to earlier reports, the Barka and Sohar projects on the Sultanate’s Batinah coast, which have a combined capacity of 116.8 million imperial gallons per day, are in an advanced stage of selecting a developer. The water schemes for both project locations are slated for commercial operation by April 2018.

Likewise, the proposed Salalah desalination project will have a capacity to produce 20 million imperial gallons water per day.

The newly planned projects are expected to substantially enhance the availability of potable water in the country, as the Sultanate has recently witnessed a shortage in water supply due to a phenomenal growth in consumption.

The demand for potable water in Oman's northern region is projected to grow by 6 per cent per annum in seven years, from 238 million cubic metres in 2013 to 349 million cubic metres in 2020, according to a seven-year outlook for power and water demand released by OPWP last year.

A combination of population growth and industrial development, including tourism projects, are cited as the major reasons for the growth in demand for potable water.

Also, the demand for potable water in Salalah is projected to grow by8 per cent, and peak water demand to increase from 75,000 cubic metres per day in 2013 to 132,000 cubic metres per day by 2020.