14 May 2015
MUSCAT: A Request for Qualifications (RfQ) leading to the development of a new Independent Water Project (IWP) in Dhofar Governorate in the southern part of Oman is expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the Sultanate's sole procurer of new power generation and water desalination capacity.
The new water scheme is tentatively sized in the range of 80,000 to 100,000 cubic metres / day (18-22 million imperial gallons per day MIGD) of capacity. It will help meet the escalating demand for potable water fuelled by population growth, burgeoning infrastructure and commercial investment, and a policy decision to shift from groundwater resources to desalinated supplies.
Two sites are currently being evaluated, one at Raysut and the other adjacent to Sembcorp Salalah's Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) near Taqah, for the establishment of the new water scheme.
Significantly, a third water desalination plant may also be required around 2022, depending upon demand growth and the ultimate capacity of the new Dhofar IWP, according to the procurer.
Procurement activities for the third water scheme targeted for commercial launch in 2022 will begin around 2017, the state-run utility announced in its recently published 7-Year Outlook Statement covering the 2015 - 2021 timeframe. This proposed plant could be potentially bundled with power generation capacity depending upon electricity demand growth, it noted.
At the same time, OPWP is considering an option to add desalination capacity at Sembcorp Salalah's Taqah IWPP. "It appears that, through modifications to existing equipment and adaptations to meet Oman's recently revised water quality specifications, (Sembcorp's) Salalah IWPP may be able to provide additional capacity of 2.3 MIGD in a relatively short period. Considering the current need for additional capacity, if this project proves to be technically feasible, economical and timely, OPWP may contract for the capacity accordingly, in which case the capacity requirement for the new IWP may be somewhat reduced," it stated.
Potable water supply and distribution in Dhofar Governorate is primarily the responsibility of the Directorate General of Water (DGW). Projections made by the DGW estimate water demand to increase at an annual rate of around 9 per cent. Salalah City has by far the largest share of demand in the Dhofar water system, as well as the highest growth rate.
Desalinated water supplies from Sembcorp Salalah's 15 MIGD capacity plant at Taqah cover much of the demand in areas served by transmission and distribution networks. This requirement was met almost exclusively by groundwater resources before the Taqah facility came into operation in January 2013.
While the DGW continues to maintain its groundwater supply network, which is capable of supplying more than 60,000 m3/day, a growing consumer preference for desalinated water supply means that groundwater use is being limited to occasions when demand exceeds supply of desalinated water. This practice, says OPWP, is also in line with national policy to limit groundwater production in order to replenish aquifers.
MUSCAT: A Request for Qualifications (RfQ) leading to the development of a new Independent Water Project (IWP) in Dhofar Governorate in the southern part of Oman is expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the Sultanate's sole procurer of new power generation and water desalination capacity.
The new water scheme is tentatively sized in the range of 80,000 to 100,000 cubic metres / day (18-22 million imperial gallons per day MIGD) of capacity. It will help meet the escalating demand for potable water fuelled by population growth, burgeoning infrastructure and commercial investment, and a policy decision to shift from groundwater resources to desalinated supplies.
Two sites are currently being evaluated, one at Raysut and the other adjacent to Sembcorp Salalah's Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) near Taqah, for the establishment of the new water scheme.
Significantly, a third water desalination plant may also be required around 2022, depending upon demand growth and the ultimate capacity of the new Dhofar IWP, according to the procurer.
Procurement activities for the third water scheme targeted for commercial launch in 2022 will begin around 2017, the state-run utility announced in its recently published 7-Year Outlook Statement covering the 2015 - 2021 timeframe. This proposed plant could be potentially bundled with power generation capacity depending upon electricity demand growth, it noted.
At the same time, OPWP is considering an option to add desalination capacity at Sembcorp Salalah's Taqah IWPP. "It appears that, through modifications to existing equipment and adaptations to meet Oman's recently revised water quality specifications, (Sembcorp's) Salalah IWPP may be able to provide additional capacity of 2.3 MIGD in a relatively short period. Considering the current need for additional capacity, if this project proves to be technically feasible, economical and timely, OPWP may contract for the capacity accordingly, in which case the capacity requirement for the new IWP may be somewhat reduced," it stated.
Potable water supply and distribution in Dhofar Governorate is primarily the responsibility of the Directorate General of Water (DGW). Projections made by the DGW estimate water demand to increase at an annual rate of around 9 per cent. Salalah City has by far the largest share of demand in the Dhofar water system, as well as the highest growth rate.
Desalinated water supplies from Sembcorp Salalah's 15 MIGD capacity plant at Taqah cover much of the demand in areas served by transmission and distribution networks. This requirement was met almost exclusively by groundwater resources before the Taqah facility came into operation in January 2013.
While the DGW continues to maintain its groundwater supply network, which is capable of supplying more than 60,000 m3/day, a growing consumer preference for desalinated water supply means that groundwater use is being limited to occasions when demand exceeds supply of desalinated water. This practice, says OPWP, is also in line with national policy to limit groundwater production in order to replenish aquifers.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
