Muscat – Nama Water Services has awarded a 15-year performance-based contract worth RO878mn (€2bn) to a consortium led by French utility company SUEZ to operate and maintain water and wastewater services across Muscat, North Sharqiyah and South Sharqiyah.

The agreement, signed during His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s official visit to France, is the largest contract secured by SUEZ in the Middle East and will serve 2.3mn people, equivalent to 43% of Oman’s population.

The consortium comprises SUEZ, National Trading Company and the National Energy Center (NEC), which will operate through a dedicated entity, National Sustainable Water Alliance.

The contract is a key component of Oman Vision 2040, which aims to improve water security, reduce water losses and strengthen the long-term sustainability of the sector through performance-based operations and knowledge transfer.

Under the agreement, the consortium will operate and maintain 240 wells, 10,700km of water pipelines and more than 400,000 smart meters, while refurbishing and upgrading four desalination plants supplying around 470,000m³ of drinking water a day.

It will also manage 22 wastewater treatment plants with a combined treatment capacity of 280,000m³/day, 3,000km of sewerage networks and 400km of treated water networks, besides overseeing new household wastewater connections.

The contract includes 33 key performance indicators, with payments linked to operational performance. Its principal targets include reducing water losses from 34% to 11% by 2040, maintaining a continuous 24-hour water supply and improving preventive maintenance to enhance service reliability and extend asset life.

SUEZ said it will deploy advanced digital technologies, including Aquadvanced, Inflowmatics, iDroloc and Sewerball, to monitor networks, detect leaks, improve operational efficiency and reduce energy and chemical consumption.

Xavier Girre, CEO, SUEZ, described the agreement as the company’s largest contract in the Middle East. “It is an honour for SUEZ to collaborate with the Omani authorities to provide sustainable drinking water and sanitation services to more than two million people,” he said. “This success reflects recognition of SUEZ’s expertise in addressing critical water challenges in a context of structural water stress.”

The project also places strong emphasis on workforce development, with an Omanisation target of more than 83%, alongside training and knowledge transfer programmes to build long-term operational and management capabilities within the sultanate’s water sector.