A consortium comprising Mitsui, Acwa Power and Dhofar International Development and Investment Holding (DIDIC) has been awarded the 3,219 MW Ibri Sohar-3 power generation project.

The project, the largest single-tendered IPP in Oman, includes two natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants of 1,509 MW and 1,710 MW each, located at Ibri and Sohar in Northern Oman.

Mitsui is the lead investor and the managing member of the project, owning 50.1 per cent of the project, with Acwa Power having a further 44.9 per cent of the shares and DIDIC, 5 per cent.

The announcement of the award of the project was made by Oman Power and Water Procurement (OPWP) Company.  

Both plants will be owned and operated under a 15-year power purchase agreement with OPWP and will be connected to the Main Interconnected System (MIS) in Oman.

“Demand for electric power in the sultanate is increasing at a rapid pace so these projects are essential to provide reliable and efficient power to drive economic growth and development,” said Paddy Padmanathan, president and CEO of Acwa Power.

“This is our fifth project in the Sultanate of Oman, and in conjunction with our consortium partners we’re committed to meeting the target commissioning dates set out in the agreements. This project is of particular importance to us as it represents the largest single award in the region, second only to our existing Qurayyah IPP.”

Once commercially operational in early 2019 the plants will supply approximately 30 per cent of electricity demand in Oman.

‘WONDERFUL YEAR’

Rajit Nanda, chief investment officer of Acwa Power, remarked: “We’re a committed partner in helping drive economic development in Oman through the delivery of safe power and water at the lowest possible cost. This ceremony comes following a wonderful year for Acwa Power in Oman with the commencement of operations from our recent expansion at our Acwa Power Barka facility together with the achievement of groundbreaking in the recently awarded Salalah2 IPP all of which are a sign of our steadfast commitment to Oman.”

Acwa Power has operations in 12 countries across three continents. Last year it closed project financing of eight IPP projects with a total capacity of 1,650 MW (excluding this project). These include a total of 770 MW for renewable energy projects at a total project cost of $5 billion.