Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco) is planning to build a gas-fired independent power project (IPP) with a generation capacity of 78 MW in the Musandam governorate of the sultanate, a report said.

A private developer selected through a competitive tender will build the project and sell electricity to Raeco, reported Times of Oman.

“The current plan is to bring these units online once total demand (in Musandam) increases beyond 100 MW which, as per Raeco’s forecast, is expected to be in 2019,” stated the report, citing the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP).

The peak annual growth in demand for electricity in the Musandam governorate in a low-case scenario for another seven years is estimated at seven per cent, up from 74 MW in 2016 to 116 MW in 2023, the company said in its seven-year outlook.