OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2012. Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura), in conjunction with Malakoff Corporation Berhad (Head office: Malaysia; CEO: Zainal Abidin Jalil; hereinafter, "Malakoff") and Cadagua, S.A. (Head Office: Spain; Director General: Antonio Casado; hereinafter, "Cadagua"), has been awarded as Successful Bidder from the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), a state-owned company of the Sultanate of Oman, to undertake an independent water project (IWP) in Al Ghubrah, Muscat, Oman using reverse osmosis technology.  

Oman is located on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Strait of Hormuz, the vital artery of Japan's energy security. On the back of its population growth and economic development, Oman's daily water demand currently amounts to about 700,000 m3 and is expected to continue growing by two to three percent per year. Demand is notably increasing in the metropolitan area centered on Muscat, and the Government of Oman is planning to launch multiple IWPs to address the situation. The project to be undertaken by Sumitomo Corporation, the first large-scale IWP in Oman, is slated to supply water for daily use equivalent to the amount consumed by approximately 800,000 people.

Specifically under the project, a desalination plant with a daily treatment capacity of 190,000 m3 will be constructed. Being a build-own-operate (BOO) project, the constructed facilities will be operated and maintained for 20 years. Commercial operation is scheduled to commence in September 2014. The project is expected to cost up to approximately 30 billion yen in total and is planned to be funded by Japanese financial institutions through project finance scheme. In order to proactively engage in project operations, Sumitomo Corporation and Malakoff will respectively invest in 45% of the shares of the project company as major shareholders. The two companies will also establish an operation and maintenance (O&M) company for active involvement in O&M.

Malakoff is Malaysia's leading independent water and power producer, operating a wide range of projects in Malaysia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Malakoff also serves as Sumitomo Corporation's business partner in Bahrain's independent water and power project (IWPP), in which the Company has a stake. At the same time, with competitive expertise in the designing, engineering of water and wastewater treatment plants, Cadagua is a pivotal subsidiary of Ferrovial Agroman, a major Spanish construction company that builds airports and roads as well as engages in civil engineering. Cadagua and an India-based comprehensive water engineering company, VA Tech Wabag, in which Sumitomo Corporation has a stake, will be contracted for the plant construction in Oman.

Sumitomo Corporation has been proactively building water infrastructure that contributes to improving the living environment of countries around the world by strategically pursuing optimal schemes tailored for each region. In the Middle East and the Gulf regions, where water resources are limited, water demand is expected to continue to rise on the back of increased population growth and economic development. Sumitomo Corporation intends to make further contributions to the development of local communities in these regions by helping providing stable water supplies. By fully exhibiting its integrated corporate strength, Sumitomo Corporation aims to become a major player in the water infrastructure arena, helping to solve global water issues.