Oman floats key tender for Wadi Dayqah water project

MUSCAT: Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) on Monday floated an initial tender seeking bids from consultancy firms for providing ‘technical advisory’ services for developing an Independent Water Project (IWP) in Wadi Dayqah (Qurayyat) near Muscat.

The desalination capacity of the project is yet to be determined.

OPWP will issue the tender document between August 21 and 31, while the last date for submitting bids will be October 2, according to the tender floated by the state-owned OPWP.

The winning consultant will help OPWP in preparing a detailed tender document and preparation of a contract for building an independent water project in Wadi Dayaq on a Build, Operate and Own (BOO) basis.

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 National Power and Water Company.

The OMR100 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.