25 September 2011
MUSCAT -- The Power Sector Law will be suitably amended to facilitate the procurement of Oman's largest Independent Water Project (IWP) at Al Ghubrah in Muscat Governorate. According to the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), which is overseeing the procurement of the project through a competitive tender, a change in the Sector Law will be necessary in order to provide the requisite regulatory framework for the development of the estimated $400 million water desalination scheme.
The Sector Law currently not apply to water desalination schemes that are not combined or co-located with the generation of electricity. OPWP expects the law to be amended to enable water-only schemes to be also regulated under the Sector Law. Nevertheless, any delay in bringing this amendment into force will not necessarily delay the competitive process or the implementation of the project, officials have stressed.
"OPWP is conducting the competition process on the basis that there will be a change in the law. In the event that such a change in law does not take place prior to the selection of the preferred bidder, then conditions akin to those typically found in or arising from a licence or exemption issued by Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman (AER) will be enshrined within the Water Purchase Agreement (WPA)," the state-owned procurer informed prospective bidders for the Al Ghubrah license.
More than 30 international and local firms have so far collected Requests for Qualifications (RfQ) in a sign of the strong global interest generated by the competitive process for the Al Ghubrah IWP. Potential bidders include Marubeni Corporation, Veolia, Metito Utilities, Degremont, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitom Samsung Engineering, Acciona Agua, Sembcorp, Caramondani, Leighton, L&T, Hyundai Rotem, and Oman Investment Corporation. The last date for submission of RfQs is November 7, 2011.
The selected bidder will win a licence to develop, finance, design, engineer, construct, own, operate and maintain a brownfield desalination plant of a contracted capacity of 42 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of potable water. The developer will also be required to construct new offshore facilities to facilitate sea water supply and brine concentrate discharge.
The project will use seawater reverse osmosis to produce potable water for transmission and distribution in the Muscat Governorate. While the plant will not have any co-located electricity generation facilities, electricity will be supplied through the power grid. Potable water will be purchased by OPWP under a long-term Water Purchase Agreement (WPA). The Commercial Operation Date is expected to be April 1, 2014, although part of the capacity will be brought on stream a year earlier.
A consortium of consultants comprising KPMG, Fichtner and SNR Denton is advising OPWP on the procurement of the Al Ghubrah project.
MUSCAT -- The Power Sector Law will be suitably amended to facilitate the procurement of Oman's largest Independent Water Project (IWP) at Al Ghubrah in Muscat Governorate. According to the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), which is overseeing the procurement of the project through a competitive tender, a change in the Sector Law will be necessary in order to provide the requisite regulatory framework for the development of the estimated $400 million water desalination scheme.
The Sector Law currently not apply to water desalination schemes that are not combined or co-located with the generation of electricity. OPWP expects the law to be amended to enable water-only schemes to be also regulated under the Sector Law. Nevertheless, any delay in bringing this amendment into force will not necessarily delay the competitive process or the implementation of the project, officials have stressed.
"OPWP is conducting the competition process on the basis that there will be a change in the law. In the event that such a change in law does not take place prior to the selection of the preferred bidder, then conditions akin to those typically found in or arising from a licence or exemption issued by Authority for Electricity Regulation, Oman (AER) will be enshrined within the Water Purchase Agreement (WPA)," the state-owned procurer informed prospective bidders for the Al Ghubrah license.
More than 30 international and local firms have so far collected Requests for Qualifications (RfQ) in a sign of the strong global interest generated by the competitive process for the Al Ghubrah IWP. Potential bidders include Marubeni Corporation, Veolia, Metito Utilities, Degremont, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitom Samsung Engineering, Acciona Agua, Sembcorp, Caramondani, Leighton, L&T, Hyundai Rotem, and Oman Investment Corporation. The last date for submission of RfQs is November 7, 2011.
The selected bidder will win a licence to develop, finance, design, engineer, construct, own, operate and maintain a brownfield desalination plant of a contracted capacity of 42 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of potable water. The developer will also be required to construct new offshore facilities to facilitate sea water supply and brine concentrate discharge.
The project will use seawater reverse osmosis to produce potable water for transmission and distribution in the Muscat Governorate. While the plant will not have any co-located electricity generation facilities, electricity will be supplied through the power grid. Potable water will be purchased by OPWP under a long-term Water Purchase Agreement (WPA). The Commercial Operation Date is expected to be April 1, 2014, although part of the capacity will be brought on stream a year earlier.
A consortium of consultants comprising KPMG, Fichtner and SNR Denton is advising OPWP on the procurement of the Al Ghubrah project.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
