Oman on its own on sewage plant
01 July 2003
The Omani government has decided to carry out a sewage project in Muscat on its own after talks with a private consortium broke down, officials said.
"The sewage plant will be wholly financed by Oman after the government failed to agree with the consortium on the rate of return," an official from the consortium said.
The government has now set up a firm, Oman Wastewater Services Company, to build the plant at a revised cost of $260 million compared with an initially planned $600 million.
The consortium included British firm Cascal, Australia's Auscon Consultants, Oman's Galfar Engineering and Contracting and local businessman Yakoub Al Harthy.
The project was hit when US firm Ogden, which changed its name to Covanta Energy, pulled out in 2000 and then a year later Bank Muscat withdrew. Work was initially due to start on the project in the capital Muscat in July 2001 with 49 per cent of the project to be sold to the public within five years.
Oman Wastewater Services Company now plans to invite bids for the construction of the sewage network next month.
The project, first drawn up in 1996, is part of the Sultanate efforts to privatise public utilities in a bid to reduce dependence on oil and gas revenues.
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