Nama appoints consortium for water sector restructuring

MUSCAT, MAY 26 - Nama Holding, the government supervisor for water sector restructuring in the Sultanate, has appointed a consortium to provide advisory services on the design and implementation of new sector arrangements. The consortium, which is led by PricewaterhouseCoopers Oman (PwC), together with partners from Mott MacDonald, Castalia, Curtis and Zeenah PR, will advise on the restructuring process, covering areas such as financial, technical and legal aspects, as well as specialist themes like policy development, regulation, company establishment, asset valuation, change management and human resources. The restructuring plan is based on recommendations from the country’s Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) and has been approved by the government’s Water Sector Restructuring Steering Committee. The plan would see disparate regional water and wastewater authorities replaced by a single policy-setting body, an independent regulator, and three vertically integrated water and wastewater service companies. The primary objective is to enable increased water and sanitation levels as well as long-term financial sustainability of the sector. This may pave the way for more private sector involvement in water and wastewater services in the Sultanate. The restructuring project expected to complete by 2020.