Engie eyes expansion in Oman

Muscat: Engie, which currently has a participation in seven power and water plants in Oman, together with its local partners, is focusing on several investment opportunities in renewable and energy services with a view to diversifying its portfolio.
Present in the country since 1995, with the establishment of Manah Power plant, Engie is the first private investment project in the electricity sector, said Eng. Hamed Al Maghderi, Country Director of Engie Oman.
The osmosis desalination plant in Barka could be one of the main water plants feeding the network in the future, he added.
“The plant in Barka, providing 295,000 cubic metres of potable water per day, since the end of April 2018 has been helping the people of the Sultanate as a whole. With continued efforts and dedication, it could soon become one of the main water plants providing desalinated water,” said Eng. Al Maghderi.
This project was one of the many projects taken up by Engie, a French multinational electric utility company that has been active in Oman for over 20 years in the field of power generation water desalinisation and energy services.
Oman’s electricity sector
He added that since the establishment of the aforementioned project in the electricity sector in the Sultanate, the volume of investments reached up to US$4 billion.
“Today, in line with our great commitment to Omanisation, more than 70 per cent of our jobs are Omanised and we are proud to have an Omani gas turbine maintenance team operating in Oman and abroad,” said the Country Director.
“We are keen to support small and medium enterprises by assigning them work. We also contribute to the development of the community by installing solar panels in schools and studying the lighting of desert communities,” he said.
“The group currently plans to engage in large solar photovoltaics (PV) and in projects related to energy services, including in the Duqm Economic Zone,” Al Maghderi added.
The company recently acquired a 40 per cent stake in Tabreed, a district cooling specialist, which owns Tabreed Oman and provides services to commercial complexes and other establishments in Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM).
Omanisation
“Engie in Oman has focused on Omanisation and the training of national cadres at various levels. The Omanisation rate includes senior management and is expected to reach 100 per cent by 2025. It also contributes significantly to the development of the local community, installing solar power panels in some schools in different governorates,” Al Maghderi said.
He added that the multinational company has also allocated funds to different sectors such as the health sector, education and sports activities.
In April this year, in Paris, Engie received an official delegation from the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm (Sezad), led by Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of Sezad and Chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), and is exploring several business opportunities.
Engie is active in around 70 countries with 150,000 people employed worldwide and earned revenue of 65 billion euros in 2017.