Six new IWPs to boost Oman’s water capacity

As many as six new Independent Water Projects (IWP) offering in excess of 850,000 cubic metres/day of additional desalination capacity are proposed to be developed at key locations around the Sultanate over the next four years.

According to Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), member of Nama Group, the new privately financed and developed in Muscat Governorate, North Al Batinah, Barka, Wadi Dayqah, Masirah Island and Dhofar Governorate.

Included in the list is the much anticipated project to treat and supply potable water from the Wadi Dayqah reservoir near Qurayat in Muscat Governorate. A Request for Proposals (RfP), issued in April this year, envisions a 125,000 cubic metres/day (equivalent to 27.5 million imperial gallons per day MIGD) capacity treatment plant that will be set up close to the reservoir.

Conceived as a “dual purpose project” catering also to the irrigation water requirements of the surrounding villages and towns, the Wadi Dayqah IWP will include a potable water component of around 67,000 cubic metres per day. The Commercial Operation Date (COD) is set for Q4 2022.

The biggest of the six water schemes is planned at Ghubra in Muscat Governorate. The procurement process for Ghubrah III IWP, featuring a capacity of 300,000 cubic metres/day (66 MIGD), was initiated in Q1 2018, with commercial operation slated in Q3 2023. “The release of the RfP for this project is planned for Q2 2019 and is pending approvals from the relevant authorities,” said OPWP in its newly published 7-Year Outlook Statement covering the 2019-2025 timeframe.

At Barka, already a major water desalination hub, OPWP plans to procure a fifth new desalination plant with a capacity of around 101,000 cubic metres per day (22 MiGD). The Barka V IWP, as the project is called, is proposed to be brought into operation by the second quarter of 2022.

An equally large desalination plant is planned for development somewhere along the North Al Batinah coast.

Procurement for the ‘North Batinah IWP’, with a capacity of around 150,000 cubic metres per day (33 MIGD) was launched in 2018. An RfP for the project is proposed to be issued in the third quarter of this year with an award anticipated in Q1 2020. COD is targeted during 2023.

Masirah Island, off the Sultanate’s eastern seaboard, will host its first IWP — a relatively small scale plant with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres/day (2.2 MIGD).

“Following technical assessments and land allocation, OPWP expects to issue the RFQ in Q3, 2019 with a scheduled COD for Q1 2023m,” said OPWP.

Rounding off the list of planned water scheme is ‘Dhofar Water 2023’ — a 150,000 cubic metres/day (33 MIGD) capacity IWP slated for development in Dhofar Governorate. OPWP says it plans to initiate the procurement process for this project in the third quarter of this year, with COD set during 2023.

“From 2021 to 2025, OPWP may procure additional water desalination capacity projects. However, the Government is currently working on a plan for restructuring of the water sector into a number of regional companies, which may come to fruition in this time period. OPWP’s future role as procurer of water desalination capacity will be determined through this process,” the state-run utility added.