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| Locations of two Omani desalination projects that GS E&C's water processing subsidiary, GS Inima Environment, won from Oman Power & Water Procurement Company / Courtesy of GS E&C |
By Nam Hyun-woo
GS Engineering & Construction is bolstering its presence in the global market, as its Spanish subsidiary has clinched a 2.3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) desalination project in Oman.
According to GS E&C, Thursday, GS Inima Environment recently received a letter of award from Oman Power & Water Procurement Company to conduct two build-own-operate projects ― the third-phase desalination project at the Al Ghubra desalination plant and the fifth-phase project plan in Barka.
GS Inima Environment became a subsidiary of GS E&C in 2011, as the Korean builder purchased Spain's Obrascon Huarte Lain's full stake in the water-processing company for 352 billion won.
GS Inima Environment will be in charge of financing and construction of the projects, as well as operating them for 20 years. The Al Ghubra and Barka projects are expected to bring the company revenue of 1.6 trillion won and 697 billion won, respectively.
The third-phase Al Ghubra project is aimed at building a desalination plant near the Omani capital of Muscat capable of processing 30 kiloliters of seawater a day through reverse osmosis. The output will be equivalent to the combined daily water consumption of 1 million people, marking the largest single project that GS Inima Environment has ever undertaken.
The total investments into the plant will amount to $275 million, and GS Inima Environment will own a 52 percent stake in a special-purpose company holding the managerial rights to the plant, 50 percent in its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and 51 percent in its operation and maintenance (O&M).
The construction will begin in the second quarter of next year, with a goal of launching its commercial operation from the second quarter of 2024.
The fifth phase Barka project is aimed at building a 100,000 cubic meter desalination plant at a site 60 kilometers west of Muscat. GS Inima Environment will have the full managing rights in the plant, and 50 percent in its EPC and O&M. The commercial operation will begin in the second quarter of 2023.
Along with the project, GS E&C and GS Inima Environment have been jointly researching the commercialization of technologies on sea water processing with renewable energy. GS E&C said the Oman projects will boost the businesses GS E&C has in the pipeline.
"These projects are a stable long-term business selling desalinated seawater to a public company at a fixed price, as well as providing EPC and O&M services for the plants," GS E&C President Huh Yoon-hong said. "GS Inima Environment will continue making efforts to consolidate its status as one of the leading companies in the global desalination market."
