Sohar-3 Power Plant to ready in 2019

Muscat: Shinas Generating Company (SGC), the company developing the Sohar-3 Power Plant, has announced that commercial operations at the project will commence from the first quarter of 2019.
The company is also targeting to be listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) by the third quarter of next year.
In 2016, the consortium of Mitsui, holding 50.1 per cent of the shares, ACWA Power and Dhofar International Development and Investment Holding Company (DIDIC) with 44.9 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, bagged the contract from the government to develop the Sohar-3 Power Plant.
“The project is the second largest power plant in Oman with a net capacity of 1,710 megawatts,” Eng. Abdullah Ali Al Nofli, CEO of SGC, said.
He added that the work progress at the plant has reached a very advanced stage after completing the construction work, and commencing the commissioning and testing phase.
Eng. Al Nofli pointed out that the plant, strategically located at the Port of Sohar, is connected to a new constructed power transmission network with a capacity of 400 kilovolts (kV), which contributes to the commercial and industrial boom in the Governorate of North Al Batinah and the entire country.
He added that with total investments of US$957 million (approximately OMR368 million), SGC’s role does not stop at the economic growth level of the country, but extends to the environmental level through the company's commitment to all safety systems, rules and regulations to preserve the environment.
"The company is also committed towards the In-Country Value (ICV) approach and accordingly allocated more than 21.6 per cent of the total construction contracts value, amounting for OMR65.4 million to local companies," Eng. Al Nofli said. The company is also committed to provide training opportunities to Omani students and graduates.
Eng. Al Nofli said the plant will commence its commercial operations in the first quarter of 2019. Later that year, the company will present an attractive investment opportunity in light of a pre-existing long-term agreement with OPWP, by offering 40 per cent of its shares in a planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the third quarter of 2019.
SGC was established in 2016 after the consortium of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., ACWA Power and Dhofar International Development & Investment Holding Company (DIDIC) and signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) on March 1, 2016. Under the PPA, the consortium builds, owns and operates the power plant and sells power to OPWP for a period of 15 years from 2019.
Sohar-3 Power Plant operates on a high efficiency basis using the latest technologies with a natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant, a system that reduces costs and increases the efficiency of the consumption of natural gas used in generating electricity, thereby raising the efficiency in operation and producing low cost electricity to the government.