Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) plans to launch a number of new Independent Water Projects (IWP) at several locations across the Sultanate, a report said.

Modest-sized water desalination schemes are being planned in Khasab in Musandam governorates and Duqm in Wusta governorates, added the Oman Observer report, which cited OPWP’s study of electricity and water demand until 2021.

Major projects are also planned in the Sharqiyah and Dhofar governorates, according to the report.

“OPWP is in consultation with the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) to finalise plans for procurement of desalination capacity to serve Duqm and Musandam,” the Observer quoted the report titled ‘OPWP 7-Year Statement’.

“The Duqm IWP is being considered for 2019 with capacity of up to 60,000 cu m/day (13 million imperial gallons per day MIGD), depending on the extent to which industrial demands must be served. The Musandam IWP is being considered at Khasab with capacity of about 13,000 cu m/day (3 MIGD).”

Musandam’s first IWP in Khasab will run on locally produced natural gas, while the Duqm IWP will meet the potable water needs of a new township expected to accommodate around 100,000 people over the next 15 years, the report said.

OPWP plans to procure a new IWP in Sharqiyah with a capacity of about 55,000 cu m per day (12.1 MIGD) to be brought into service in 2019.

In Dhofar Governorate, OPWP is planning a new IWP with a capacity in the range of 80,000 – 100,000 cu m/day (18-22 MIGD) operational by 2019. Peak water demand in the governorate is projected to increase from 88,000 cu m/day in 2015 to 143,000 cu m/d in 2021, according to OPWP.