A major Independent Water Project (IWP) currently nearing completion at Qurayyat in Muscat Governorate is due to come into production before the end of this year, helping bolster water desalination capacity in a region that continues to witness strong potable water demand growth.
The Qurayyat Desalination Company, a joint venture between Hyflux Limited (85 per cent) of Singapore and locally based Modern Channel Services (15 per cent), is developing the 200,000 cubic metres per day (44 million imperial gallons per day MIGD) capacity water desalination plant at a cost of around RO 100 million.
The plant, originally contracted to come into service ahead of summer — when water demand typically peaks — is now scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the sole off-taker of all electricity and water output under the Sector Law.
Significantly, the Qurayyat IWP is the first of a raft of brand-new water schemes due to come on stream over the next 12-15 months in the Interconnected Zone — a vast area that encompasses the governorates of Muscat, Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South, Buraimi, Al Dakhiliyah and Al Dhahirah. Potable water demand growth in this zone is projected to grow at an average annual rate of about seven per cent over the 2017 – 2023 timeframe.
On its heels will come the launch of the Barka IV desalination plant in the second quarter of next year. The 281,000 cubic metres per day capacity scheme (62 MIGD), currently under development by Barka Desalination Company, will rank among the Sultanate’s largest reverse osmosis (RO) projects.
Also under construction is Sohar III IWP, a 250,000 cubic metres per day capacity (55 MIGD) plant scheduled to commence operation in Q3 2018. The project is being developed by Myah Gulf Desalination Company.
While output from the Qurayyat IWP will be fed into the network that supplies the Interconnected Zone, potable water demand in Qurayyat town is being met by a temporary IWP owned by Muscat Water LLC. The 8,000 cubic metres per day capacity RO plant is operated under a Water Supply Agreement (WPA) concluded with OPWP. It will serve the Qurayyat area until time that the keenly awaited Wadi Dayqah project, which will tap the huge reservoir created by the nearby Wadi Dayqah dam, comes into operation in early 2019.
The landmark project, which marks the first-ever effort to tap surface water resources in the Sultanate, will deliver around 67,000 cubic metres per day (15 MIGD) of potable water, to large areas of Qurayyat Wilayat.
Conrad Prabhu
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