Oman plans to spend $6 billion in power sector
25 Jan 2010
The oil-rich gulf Sultanate of Oman intends to spend over $6 billion by 2016 to augment power generation capacity by building a new power plant and increasing the capacity of two existing plans.
The head of Oman's General Electricity Authority for Electricity and Water, Moahammed bin Abdulla al-Mahrouki said yesterday on the sidelines of an energy summit that the nation's energy demand has doubled to around 3,800 megawatts (MW) over the past decade as a result of growing industrial activity.
The demand for electricity in the country is expected to grow to 4,600 MW by 2016.
Al-Mahrouki said that his country has begun the preliminary work for setting up a new power plant at Al Ghubrah, in the governorate of Muscat, and expansion of two operating plants.
The Al Ghubrah Independent Water & Power Project will have a capacity to generate 450-600MW of electricity and 30 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) or 136,000 cubic metres per day of desalinated water, at an estimated cost of around $1-1.2 billion.
The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), a wholly owned subsidiary of the 100 per cent government-owned Electricity Holding Company (EHC), has already invited 'expressions of interest' from potential bidders for the Al Ghubrah project.