01 September 2015
MUSCAT: A consortium of Acwa Power, Mitsui, and Dhofar International (DIDIC) has been awarded a contract for the development, construction, ownership, and operation of a power plant in Oman. The consortium will work on a 445MW gas fired power generation plant, and an existing 273MW natural gas fired Salalah 2 IPP power plant. The award follows the signing of a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) last year by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) with the same developer consortium. The project debt has been structured as long-term limited recourse project financing and funded by a group of international and regional banks, such as Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, Mizuho Bank, Bank Muscat, and Bank Dhofar.

Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of Acwa Power, said: "Reaching financial close on this project once again demonstrates the level of comfort and commitment that international and local banks have for investing in the Sultanate of Oman. We are very enthusiastic to rapidly deliver in the execution and construction of the project in collaboration with our local and international partners." The project will be constructed through a lump-sum turnkey EPC Contract with SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corp.

First National Operation & Maintenance Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Acwa Power, will be responsible for providing operation and maintenance services for the plant.

© Oman Daily Observer 2015