GE has received contracts totaling nearly $300 million to provide advanced 6FA gas turbines and long-term services for the Salalah Independent Water & Power Project (IWPP), which will help support strong economic growth in the Dhofar region of southern Oman. GE is supplying five heavy-duty Frame 6FA gas turbines, which are equipped with GE advanced emission control technologies. GE also has signed a 15-year contractual service agreement (CSA) for the project, which will include the supply of parts, repairs and field services, and will provide performance services for the gas turbine-generators and accessory equipment. To date, GE has service agreements, including CSAs, in place at more than 600 sites worldwide. The plant, located in the Taqah area of Salalah, about 1,000 kilometers southwest of the Omani capital city of Muscat, will have a capacity of 445 megawatts of electricity and 15 million imperial gallons per day of desalinated water to help meet the region's growing power and clean water needs. “Both the power and water demands in the Dhofar region have been increasing steadily over the past several years,” said Bob Whitelaw, chief executive officer of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company. “The Salalah IWPP is a critical part of the growth and investment plans for the Sultanate's continued social and economic development.” All of the electricity and water output from the plant will be sold under a 15-year power and water purchase agreement executed by the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company and Sembcorp Salalah Power & Water Company, which is 60 percent owned by Sembcorp Utilities and 40 percent owned by the Oman Investment Corporation. “The Salalah IWPP project demonstrates our commitment to deliver advanced technology solutions and services to support the Sultanate of Oman's and the region's growing power and water needs, which are critical to providing its citizens with a high quality of life,” said Joseph Anis, GE Energy's president for the Middle East. “This project is another example of the worldwide trend we are seeing toward the integration of power and water production at a single site, especially in the Middle East where population and industrial growth rates exceed many other regions of the world. Water and energy are interdependent; energy is needed to generate desalinated water and water is needed to produce energy. GE has the scale, diversity and expertise to effectively support power and water projects around the world,” Anis added.
