Nama Group (formerly The Electricity Holding Company) has invited local and international consultants to register their interest in participating in a competitive process for a contract to provide advisory services on the restructuring of the water sector in the Sultanate.
Importantly, the restructuring exercise will not be limited to potable water distribution and supply activities — currently the prerogative of the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW), covering all of the Sultanate, with the exception of Dhofar Governorate where responsibility lies with the Directorate General of Water in the governorate.
The exercise will also encompass wastewater services and potentially even water resources in general — part of a far-reaching effort by the Omani government to bring all facets of the water sector under regulation similar to the electricity and related water (desalinated water production) sector.
Announcing the imminent launch of the tendering process for consultancy services in this regard, Nama Group said: “The Government of Oman is restructuring the institutions which develop policy, provide services and regulate the country’s water supplies and wastewater services. Nama Holding, a government owned company that will, at least initially, hold the shares of the new service companies, will shortly be procuring consultants to support the design and implementation of the new sector arrangements.”
The scope of the advisory services contract will cover, among other areas, financial, technical and legal aspects, as well as specialist themes like policy development, company establishment, asset valuation, change management and human resources, Nama Group said.
Unlike the power and related water sector, which underwent a path-breaking unbundling and restructuring process leading to the creation of the Authority for Electricity Regulation as the sector regulator in 2005, the water services sector is managed by multiple entities. While the PAEW has overall responsibility for potable water supply and distribution, management of wastewater remains largely in the hands of Haya Water, another wholly government-owned entity. Likewise, supply of water within Sohar Port is overseen by Majis Industrial Services Company (MISC), a state-owned utility.
As a first step in the revamp of the sector, the government set up a ‘Water Sector Restructuring Steering Committee’ with representatives from the PAEW, among other stakeholder bodies. Nama Group, for its part, has appointed a dedicated Project Manager to oversee the formulation of a strategy, complete with legal and regulatory frameworks, for the restructuring of the water services sector.
According to experts, all of the water-related utilities currently owned and managed by PAEW will come under formal external regulation similar to the electricity sector. Included in PAEW’s nationwide potable water distribution and supply infrastructure are transmission lines, reservoirs, pumping stations, wells and well-fields, tanker filling points, and small desalination plants, among other assets.
Water distribution and supply is currently organised into several ‘zones’, the largest of which is the Interconnected Zone covering the governorates of Muscat, Al Buraimi, Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South, Al Dakhiliyah and Al Dhahirah. There is also the Sharqiyah Zone comprising the governorates of Al Sharqiyah North and Al Sharqiyah South (excluding Masirah Island).
Overseeing potable water distribution in Dhofar Governorate is the Directorate General of Water (DGW) in the Office of the Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar. Supply is met via a combination of desalination water and water wells. PAEW is also responsible for potable water supply in smaller zones catering to water demand in Musandam and Duqm.
Conrad Prabhu
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
