Business & Finance Club Magazine - Industrial Sector - MUSCAT — A consortium with Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group, Bahwan Engineering Group (Oman), the Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI), and Shikoku Electric Co and Sojitz Corporation, Japan, has been awarded the development and construction of Oman’s next two Independent Power Projects.

Barka 3 and Sohar 2 are greenfield natural gas-fired power projects with capacity of 744 MW each. Total investment will be around $1.7 billion for both projects. The electricity produced by each project will be sold under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement to the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company. The partners bid with a consortium of Germany’s Siemens AG and GS Engineering of South Korea as their EPC contractor.

“We are proud that, with these two new projects, Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group will be able to continue contributing to the country’s growth and development in a strong partnership with Bahwan Engineering Group, which for several decades has been associated with Oman’s nation-building projects. This is also the country where our Group, in 1994, laid the foundations for its successful development of IPP projects in the Gulf area,” commented Shankar Krishnamoorthy, Chief Executive Officer of Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group.

“We have always been at the forefront in response to privatisation initiatives promoted by His Majesty’s government. These two projects will give us greater opportunities to participate in the nation’s drive towards privatisation and fulfill our commitment to harness the immense potential of Omani youth and workforce and giving them the requisite training and skills to accomplish national aspirations,” said Suresh K Virmani, Managing Director of Bahwan Engineering Group.

Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group is present in the Omani power sector through interests in three assets: Barka 2 and Sohar, both power and desalination plants, and Al Rusail, a gas-fired power plant. Together they represent an installed capacity of 1,921 MW and a water production of 268,000 m3/day. Barka 3 and Sohar 2 will be adjacent to Kahrabel’s existing Barka 2 and Sohar IWPPs, both northwest of the capital Muscat. The Group also has an operations and maintenance structure already in place in the Sultanate of Oman.

Founded in 1977 with 14 persons, Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) — the flagship of the Suhail Bahwan Group — has made steady progress through the years. Today, it is one of the largest engineering construction companies executing integrated multi-disciplinary construction projects under one umbrella, involving civil, mechanical, electrical construction, elevators and escalators, diesel power generation, trading in electrical and mechanical products and facilities management services in Oman and the UAE.

With more than 11,000 employees, including 600 engineers, the BEC group has established itself as the leader in integrated construction projects in sectors such as Oil, Gas and Power Projects, High Voltage Transmission and Distribution projects, Hotels, Hospitals and Commercial-Residential Complexes.