ACWA-led Kuwaiti consortium wins 500MW Oman solar tender

A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has won a 500MW solar tender in Oman.

The contract to develop the Ibri II solar plant was awarded to ACWA and Kuwait’s Gulf Investment Corporation and Alternative Energy Projects Co. They beat two consortiums led by Japan’s Marubeni and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar.

The result of the tender process was announced by the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP). Oman’s state news agency quoted OPWP CEO Yaqoob bin Saif al-Kiyumi calling the bids globally competitive.

Speaking at the time of the launch of the tender Hamdan Ali Al Hinai, chairman, OPWP said: “The project will be the first in the chain of renewables projects that the company is planning to develop in the coming few years to support the sustainability approach of the country.”

The winning consortium will build, own and operate the plant. Completion is expected in June 2021.

The government is hoping to complete another 500MW of capacity in Ibri in each of the three years after 2021. Together with three other IPPs, OPWP hopes to add a total of 5GW of solar capacity by the end of 2024.

Tags: pv power plants, investment, finance, middle east, gulf, acwa power, masdar, oman, marubeni