Sultanate of Oman

Reinforcement of Desalinated Water Transmission Lines in Ash Sharqiyah Governorates (Supplementary Loan)
Loan No: 673 Interest Rate: 2.5 %
Beneficiary: Public Authority for Water Grace Period: 4 years
Project Cost: KD 106.3 million Maturity: 30 years
Amount of Loan: KD 25.0 million Repayment: 53 semi-annual installments
Date of Board Approval: 2020-06-10 First Installment: 4 years following the first disbursement
Date of Loan Agreement: 2020-04-27 Date of Loan Effectiveness: -

Objectives:

The project aims at reducing the current drinking water deficit and meeting the increasing future water needs in Ash Sharqiya governorates. This will be achieved through the laying of transmission lines to transfer desalinated water, available from the recently expanded Al Sur plant, and from the Al Ashkhara plant, which is expected to be completed in the year 2020. The project will provide drinking water to the states of North Ash Sharqiya Governorate, most of which lack water distribution networks, and whose residents resort to water carriers to obtain their needs. The project will also provide water for a number of industrial and tourism projects, as well as public facilities in the project area.

Description:

The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, consists of the laying of main pipelines and secondary pipelines, the construction of water reservoirs, the increase of the capacity of a number of existing water pumping stations and the construction of new stations, including the works required to provide these stations with electricity, as well as all civil, hydro mechanical and electrical works, and the establishment of the necessary monitoring and control systems in the project facilities and their operation. The project also consists of the required technical services to prepare the studies, designs and tender documents, assist in bid evaluation, and supervision of implementation. The project includes the following main components:

  1. Reinforcement of Desalinated Water Transmission Lines Facilities:This includes all the project’s works which consists of the laying of main pipelines and secondary pipelines with a total length of about 310 km, and diameters between 300 and 1300 mm, and the construction of about 4 new water pumping stations consisting of units with capacities ranging between about 840 and 6670 m3/hour, as well as increasing the capacity of 3 existing pumping stations to include units with capacities ranging between about 110 and 2140 m3/hour each. The works also includes the construction of about 6 water tanks for balancing, each with capacities ranging between 10,000 and 80,000 m3, and about 11 water tanks for the distribution of water, each with capacities ranging between about 1,300 and 11,000 m3, as well as the construction of a station to sterilize the water at the Al Ashkara station, the provision and installation of the equipment and supplies necessary to protect and operate the transmission lines and pumping stations, in addition to providing the pumping stations with electricity and modifying and expanding the existing monitoring and controls system to include all the facilities that will be constructed.
  2. Technical Services:This component includes the necessary consultancy services to prepare the project’s preliminary studies, designs and tender documents, and assist in call for tenders and bid evaluation, as well as supervision of the project implementation, and the conduct of any additional studies necessary to achieve the project goals.

Financing:

The two Arab Fund loans, the first No. 649/2017 and the supplementary, cover about 80% of the total project cost. The Omani government will cover the remaining cost of the project and any additional project cost that may arise.