ACWA Power consortium wins $155 mln Oman desal project

Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has awarded a $155 million (OMR 60 million) contract to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power for developing the Salalah independent water project (IWP).

Other than ACWA Power, the consortium – named Dhofar Desalination Company – also includes French water and energy management company Veolia and Dhofar International Development & Investment Holding Company (DIDIC), OPWP said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Salalah project will have a capacity to generate 25 million gallons per day of desalinated water using reverse osmosis technology.

The plant is procured by OPWP under a build-own-operate framework on the back of a 20-year water purchase agreement, it added.

The project will begin commercial operations in 2020 and will be vital in meeting Dhofar region’s increasing demand for water, which is expected to be at an average of six percent per annum over the next seven years.

The engineering, procurement, and construction of the plant will be handled by a consortium of Fisia Italimpianti SpA and Abeinsa Infraestructuras Medioambiente S.A., while the operations and maintenance of the plant will be undertaken by a consortium led by Veolia Middle East with NOMAC Oman and DIDIC.