The Centralised Utilities Company (Marafiq), an Omani-Singaporean joint venture dedicated to meeting the utility needs of major industries at the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ), has invited international firms to bid for its contract for the construction of an integrated power and water project in Duqm (DIPWP). A total of eight international contracting firms have been prequalified to participate in the tender for the design and construction of the power and water project which, significantly, will also be integrated with a seawater intake facility planned at the SEZ.
“This vital project will be (implemented) in full compliance with the Authority for Electricity Regulation Oman (AER) guidelines and requirements, and will offer reliable, efficient and cost-effective utilities’ supply to multiple key industries within the Duqm zone, including the Duqm Refinery development (DRPIC),” said Marafiq in a statement.
Marafiq is a joint venture between Takamul Investment Company, a subsidiary of Oman Oil Company with a 65 per cent shareholding, and Sembcorp Utilities (Oman) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SembCorp Industries Ltd of Singapore, billed as a pioneer in centralized utilities (with a 35 per cent shareholding). The JV is the Sultanate’s first centralized utilities provider focused initially on catering to the utility requirements of major industries coming up in the Duqm SEZ. Among its major investments in the SEZ is the Duqm Integrated Power and Water Project (DIPWP) featuring a combination of electricity generation and water desalination components as well as a seawater intake system.
The complex includes a gas-fired 300 MW combined cycle power plant integrated with a 1,500 cubic metres per hour seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant.
Also included in the tender for the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contract is a seawater intake system designed to provide cooling water for, among other projects, the $7 billion Duqm Refinery currently under development at the SEZ.
A separate tender that was floated earlier by Marafiq for the implementation of the seawater intake system has since been cancelled and the project integrated with the DIPWP scheme.
A 25-year utilities service agreement signed with the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (SEZAD) grants Marafiq exclusive rights to provide various utilities and industrial gases to all of the major industries operating within the zone.
To this end, the company is setting up a centralised utilities complex where most of its utility related investments will be housed.
Construction is also under way on a new Service Corridor between Duqm Refinery and the Liquid Jetty under development at the nearby Port of Duqm. The Service Corridor will house all of the product pipelines that will carry refined products and petrochemicals from the refinery to the jetty for export. Marafiq will operate and manage the Service Corridor.
Additionally, Marafiq is developing a potable water supply and distribution business at Duqm. The service, centring on the reliable and cost-effective supply of potable water, is primarily targeted at industrial customers and new investors.
Marafiq’s Duqm Integrated Power and Water Project is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Conrad Prabhu
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