The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company has selected a team led by Valoriza Agua, the water infrastructure subsidiary of Spain’s construction group Sacyr, to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a desalination plant on Oman’s Batinah coast.
Holding an ownership interest of 51 percent, the Spanish water company is the consortium’s majority shareholder. Its partners are private equity firm Oman Brunei Investment Company, which holds 25 percent; and engineering group Sogex Oman, which holds the remaining 24 percent.
The project, estimated to cost more than $1.2 billion, represents one of the largest investments in desalination in Oman. It will use reverse osmosis technology and will have a capacity of 55 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD).
The contract also includes a 20-year water purchase agreement for the drinking water produced by the plant, which is expected to begin operating in 2018.
According to a statement, “This contract consolidates the group’s strategy and strengthens its presence in the Middle East through the water desalination projects where Valoriza Agua has designed and built more than 100 plants” supplying more than 11 million people with desalted water per day.