Efforts on to meet future water demand

The Sultanate is on the right path to meet future demand for water, which is growing by more than 15 per cent annually. Along with improving availability of potable water across the country, efforts are on to train local water engineers to meet the challenge.

This was learnt at the Oman France Water Utilities Conference organised by the Economic Department of the Embassy of France as part of the ‘business’ segment of the 2nd edition of the ‘French Week in Oman’.

“Water is one of the main challenges being faced by the Sultanate as demographic growth and economic diversification will result in annual double-digit growth in demand for water in the coming years”, Renaud Salins, Ambassador of France to the Sultanate, said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Salins said that in line with the human capital objectives stated in the Oman Vision 2040, French companies are already involved in training the new generation of Omani water engineers who will tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

While drinking water need is nearly 200 MCM (Million Cubic Metre) per annum, agriculture consumes around 1,600 MCM, and industrial consumption is 130 MCM.

Co-organised with French companies Veolia, Suez and Engie, the event gathered more than 140 people from various entities such as Public Authority for Water (Diam), Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), Haya Water, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR), researchers from MERDC and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), as well as local private companies involved in water desalination and waste water in Oman.

According to reports, Oman’s population could almost double by 2040 resulting in a number of development projects, most of them being water projects. The potable water demand in the country would jump manifold reaching 300 MCM of domestic water by then.

The conference also hailed Oman’s initiatives in the popular model of Public Private Partnership (PPP).

“The PPP model enabled to overcome all the challenges associated with the construction of the Barka IV desalination plant, which at some point involved more than 2,000 workers”, said Yves Karinthi, Project Director at Suez, Barka IWP.

“Even if the conditions of the market are becoming more and more challenging, especially in terms of funding, we strongly believe in the potential of successful PPPS in Oman, which benefit from the clear vision and strategy of the government”, Erwan Rouxel, CEO of Veolia Oman, said.