Muscat – Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP), the sole procurer of Oman’s power generation and water desalination capacities, has signed new power and water purchase agreements with four electricity generation and water desalination plants operating in Oman, with a total cost exceeding RO500mn.

The agreements were signed on Tuesday between Nama PWP and four companies: Barka 1 Independent Water and Power Plant, Barka 2 Independent Water and Power Plant, Al Rusail Power Plant, and Manah Independent Power Plant.

The official signing ceremony was held under the patronage of H E Abdulsalam bin Mohammed al Murshidi, Chairman of Oman Investment Authority. The event was also attended by Eng Ahmed bin Hamad al Subhi, Chairman of Nama Group.

Nama Group said that these new agreements complement the efforts of the government in enhancing the private sector’s role in fostering growth through strategic collaborations.

In a statement to Oman News Agency, Nama PWP explained that the total contracted capacities under these four new agreements exceed 1,500MW of electricity and 200,000 cubic metres per day of desalinated water for up to nine years. The agreements allow these companies to continue operations of the four critical plants in the sultanate.

These agreements aim to ensure that the sultanate’s main electricity network is provided with capacities to meet the increasing demand for energy and to secure capacities to supply water networks to meet the growing demand for desalinated water.

As per the agreements, Barka 1 will provide 427MW electricity and 91,000 cubic metres per day of desalinated water; Barka 2 will provide 703MW of electricity and 120,000 cubic metres per day of desalinated water; Al Rusail Power Plant will provide 184MW of electricity; and Manah Independent Power Plant will provide 254MW of electricity.

Speaking on the occasion, H E Murshidi said, “These agreements are a step to provide stability to those involved in the energy sector, including the owners of power generation stations, investors, and the banks financing these power and water desalination plants. The sector will provide sustainability and stability and will ultimately lead to better service for end consumers.”

By signing these new agreements, Nama Group achieves several main objectives, including: reducing the cost of providing energy and enhancing investor confidence in the stock market through companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, and enhancing the confidence of global developers and financial institutions to invest in energy production and water desalination projects in the future.

Ahmed bin Salim al Abri, Acting CEO of Nama PWP, explained that the signing of these contracts establishes a new phase of constructive cooperation between the public and private sectors, and enhances the confidence of developers, financiers, and owners of electricity production and water desalination plants in Oman.

The new contracts provide an opportunity for the existing power generation and water desalination plants whose contracts have expired. Nama PWP launched a tender last year to purchase electricity and water from 2024, opening competition between a number of existing plants whose contracts have expired or are about to expire. It stresses that this tender is an opportunity for existing plants to obtain new contracts with the company.

Nama PWP has floated several tenders for 2024 to ensure the provision of enough capacity for the main interconnected system and secure water supply capacities to meet the growing demands for energy and desalinated water.