Oman government is looking for an international consultant to provide advisory services for boosting the sultanate's water production capacity through new utility projects, said a report.

The state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has floated a tender in this regard. The last date of bid submission has been set at June 5.

The selected consultant will advise the government on economic, financial/commercial and legal areas for the development of a revised process for the future contracting of water capacity by OPWP and the initial implementation of the process to a contracting round aimed at securing capacity from 2022, reported the Times of Oman.

The OPWP, the sole procurer of new power generation and water desalination capacity, recently signed an RO100 million ($258 million) agreement with a consortium to establish Myah Gulf Oman Desalination Company to build a water project in Sohar.

The project is one of the biggest of its kind in the Al Batinah North Governorate and is expected to meet about 80 per cent of water demand in Al Batinah North, it stated.

Demand for potable water in Oman’s northern region, which include Muscat governorate, is projected to grow by six per cent per annum in the next four year horizon to 349 million cu m in 2020, said the report.

This is mainly due to the population growth and industrial development in addition to the tourism project boom, it added.