MUSCAT: Oman plans to build two independent water projects in Duqm and Khasab to meet the growing demand for potable water in the interior regions. The groundwork for these projects has already been started, which is part of a series of small and large water projects planned in different parts of the country as the demand for water has grown by 6 per cent per year.
The proposed Duqm desalination project will have the capacity to produce 60,000 cubic meters of water per day and a request for a proposal will be issued this year. The project, which is planned within the special economic zone in Duqm, is expected to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the annual report of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP).
Likewise, the Khasab independent water project, with an envisaged capacity of 16,000 cubic meters per day using reverse osmosis technology, is expected to start operationsduring the fourth quarter of 2019. The procurement process is expected to start this year, subject to site approval.
Yaqoob bin Saif Al Kiyumi, the chief operating officer of OPWP, had said last month that request for a proposal to developtwo other projects in Salalah and Sharqiya has already been floated after completing a pre-qualification process. These two projects, which are expected to start operations in 2019, will be awarded by the end of this year. In fact, Oman is building six water and electricity projects presently and these ventures include four water desalination projects, which will start operations between 2019 and 2020, according to OPWP. OPWP expects the consideration of solar energy projects, wind farms, and potentially other renewable energy (RE) projects to complement the gas-fired generation in the Sultanate in the near future.
