Acwa Power, a major developer and operator of power and desalinated water plants, said its consortium with French water and energy management company Veolia and Oman-based Dhofar International Development and Investment Holding Company (DIDIC) has been awarded the Salalah Independent Water Project in Oman. The project is being procured by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company SAOC (OPWP) under a build-own-operate framework on the back of a 20-year Water Purchase Agreement. Dhofar Desalination Company, the project company, will be owned by Acwa Power, Veolia Middle East and Dhofar International Development & Investment Holding (Didic). The plant, to be located at Salalah in Dhofar region, will have a capacity to generate 25 million gallons per day of desalinated water using reverse osmosis technology, said a top official. “Water is the most vital commodity for human life as well as a necessity for all enterprises. We are delighted to have been awarded this project and the opportunity to continue supporting Oman as a reliable supplier of desalinated water and power,” remarked Paddy Padmanathan, the president and chief executive of Acwa Power. The Engineering, Procurement, and Construction of the plant will be handled by a consortium of Fisia Italimpianti SpA and Abeinsa Infraestructuras Medioambiente. The Operations and Maintenance of the plant will be undertaken by a consortium of Veolia Middle East, Nomac Oman and Didic. Thamer Al Sharhan, the managing director at Acwa Power, said: “Oman is a strategic country for Acwa Power – our portfolio of six plants can generate over 4,300 MW of power and 42 million gallons per day of desalinated water.” Acwa Power is committed to ensuring the success of this project while creating real value for the local communities, he stated. As such, the project will play a key role in meeting the increasing demand for water in Oman, which is expected to be on an average, about six per cent per annum over the next seven years, he added. A major investor in a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants, Acwa Power has presence in 10 countries including in the Middle East and North Africa, Southern Africa and South East Asia regions. Its portfolio, with an investment value in excess of $30 billion, can generate 22+ GW of power and produce 2.7 million cu m/day of desalinated water to be mostly delivered on a bulk basis to state utilities and industrial majors on long term off-take contracts under Public-Private-Partnership, Concession and Utility Services Outsourcing models. The group is owned by seven Saudi conglomerates including Sanabil Direct Investment Company (owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia), the Saudi Public Pensions Agency and the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group). -TradeArabia News Service

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