Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

Oman-based Central Utilities Company (Marafiq) has reissued the main contract tender for its planned seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant in Duqm.

The revised submission deadline is 25 November.

The project has an estimated budget of $100m and will supply industrial water and support wastewater services in the Duqm Special Economic Zone.

The scheme involves building a seawater RO plant, an intake system, pre-treatment facilities, pumping stations, metering stations, pipelines and associated infrastructure.

Marafiq is developing the project in its capacity as the authorised utilities provider for the Duqm Special Economic Zone.

The company intends to develop a plant with a capacity of 45 million litres a day to serve industrial customers, including a planned hot-briquetted iron (HBI) facility proposed by an international steel manufacturer at Duqm Port. 

Spain’s Cobra Group and Oman’s Global Chemicals & Maintenance System were previously prequalified to bid for the engineering, procurement and construction contract.

The main contract was initially tendered in December 2024, with the bid submission deadline in February.