A total of 13 companies are bidding for consultancy services contracts for the development of two Independent Water Projects (IWP) in the Salalah and Sharqiyah areas of Oman, a report said.

The bids were opened recently for three key survey packages linked to the IWPs, reported Oman Observer, citing the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP).

Offers for the Topographic Survey contract have been received from G Map LLC; Vision Engineering Consultants; United Maps LLC; Al SAS Engineering Consultants; Via International; Al Abraj Consulting Engineers; Masirah International Technical; Marine Services LLC; Dawood Engineering Consultancy; Fugro Middle East & Partners LLC; Precision Engineering Consultancy LLC; New World Solutions; Nusail Engineering Consultancy; and Mott McDonald, the report said.

The new IWP in Salalah is expected to have a potential of around 18-22 million gallons/day capacity.

Oman’s aggregate desalination capacity is expected to rise from the present 657,000 cu m per day to 1.3 million cu m per day by the year 2020 owing to the projects planned over the next five years with an investment of about $1.8 billion from the private sector, the report said.