MUSCAT: Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) on Wednesday floated a tender seeking bids from consultancy firms for providing financial and commercial advisory services for an Independent Water Project (IWP) in Wadi Dayqah (Qurayyat) near Muscat.
The last date for submitting bids is on October 30, 2017, according to the tender floated by the state-owned OPWP. The surface water treatment plant will take water from Wadi Dayqah dam and treat it for supplying it to the grid, according to an unofficial source.
The winning consultant would advice OPWP in evaluating proposals from bidders participating in a tender for building a water treatment plant, which will have a sizable water treatment capacity. A tender for selecting the developer is yet to be floated.
The IWP will be awarded on the basis of build, own, operate and transfer (BOT) basis after floating a tender. The proposed IWP is the second water project in Qurayyat. The first major IWP in Qurayyat, which has a desalination capacity of 44 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD)-capacity, is being developed by a consortium comprising Singapore’s Hyflux and Modern Channels Services. The $258 million-Qurayyat desalination project, which is using reverse osmosis technology, is in an advanced stage of completion and will start operations in the fourth quarter of this year.
Annual average water demand in Oman’s northern region is projected to increase by 7 per cent over the next seven years (until 2023) and the new projects will be able to meet growing demand for potable water, according to a seven year-outlook report released by OPWP.
Demand for water in the country is mainly driven by population growth and tourism projects.
