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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

25pc growth in Oman’s water desalination capacity by 2022

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MUSCAT, JAN 28 - The Sultanate’s domestic water desalination capacity is projected to grow by around 25 per cent to 2 million cubic metres per day by the year 2022, up from around 1.5 million cubic metres per day presently, according to an official of Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP). Abrar al Zaabi, of OPWP’s Planning and Economics Department, said the new capacity will primarily come from as many as six Independent Water Projects (IWPs) planned for implementation at various locations around the Sultanate.


The largest of these proposed projects is Al Ghubrah III, a 300,000 m3/day capacity IWP that will be part of the Al Ghubrah power and water hub in the Muscat Governorate. North Al Batinah Governorate will host a 150,000 m3/day capacity water scheme, while smaller projects are envisioned in Dhofar Governorate (Salalah II IWP with a capacity of 100,000 mr3/day) and Al Sharqiyah South (80,000 m3/day). A modest sized IWP is also planned at Khasab in Musandam Governorate of a capacity of 16,000 m3/day.


Also contributing to the new capacity will be an Independent Water Project (IWP) that will treat surface water stored in the Wadi Dayqah Dam in the Wilayat of Qurayyat. The 90,000–120,000 m3/day capacity project is currently under study. Abrar and her colleagues from OPWP made the revelations at an international workshop that began at the MEDRC Water Research facility in Al Hail, Muscat, yesterday. The water desalination sector, said the OPWP executives, has so far pulled in around RO 1 billion worth of private investments. While OPWP oversees the procurement of all new capacity via a fair and transparent competitive process, output from this capacity is supplied to the Public Authority for Electricity and Water, as well as the Directorate General of Water in Dhofar Governorate for distribution to consumers nationwide. Funding the distribution and supply infrastructure are the latter two entities, they noted.


Conrad Prabhu


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