ACWA Power Barka to Execute 10 MIGD Water Expansion Project in Oman

ACWA Power International (“ACWA Power”) announced on 17 July 2012 that its subsidiary ACWA Power Barka SAOG has been granted a “Letter of Award” by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company SAOC (OPWP) for the expansion of its existing water desalination capacity by 10 MIGD (45,460 m³/day).

The expansion project is an Independent Water Project (IWP) to be developed on a BOO (Build, Own, Operate) basis and will be located at Barka  65 km north of Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. The expansion project will be constructed adjacent to ACWA Power Barka’s existing plant and will benefit from its synergies. The additional water capacity produced by the expansion project will help in meeting the projected shortfall of Sultanate’s water desalination production capacity.

The expansion project is subject to customary approvals by the Board of Directors and shareholders of the company. A new Water Purchase Agreement (WPA) will be executed for the expansion project which will be co-terminus with the existing Power and Water Purchase Agreement (PWPA). The expansion project will be funded by a syndicated loan from local and regional financial institutions. Construction of the expansion project will commence before end of Q3 2012. ACWA Power Barka is targeting to complete this expansion project and start the water production in Q4 2013. NOMAC Oman, a subsidiary of ACWA Power, which is the O & M provider for the existing ACWA Power Barka plant, is intended to be the O&M provider for the expansion project. Ahmed Al Subhi, CEO of NOMAC Oman said "NOMAC Oman is looking forward to contributing to this endeavor by expanding our operational capacity".

Mohammad A. Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power Barka and ACWA Power International said “We are proud that we are able to provide an innovative solution where ACWA Power’s main philosophy of “generating electricity and producing desalinated water at the lowest possible tariff” comes to life through creative thinking in financing, design and operations such as using the synergies of existing facilities of ACWA Power Barka.  In the medium to long-term this expansion project will prove to be a well sought solution to balance shortfalls of current desalinated water production capacity in the Sultanate”.

Abunayyan went on to say “The expansion project will also contributing to a number of our corporate objectives such as solidifying our position in key target markets such as the Sultanate of Oman and increasing our contracted production capacity in desalination production from the current 2.3 Mm3/day to 5 Mm3/day by 2014”.

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http://www.ameinfo.com/acwa-power-barka-execute-10-migd-306824