NCC wins Musandam power project

The transmission line will start at Tibat in Wilayat Bukha and travel around 18km to Khasab and extend to Dibba. (Image source: Oran Viriyincy/Flickr)

Saudi Arabian power contractor Saudi National Contracting (NCC) has been awarded a contract worth US$98mn to build the first major power transmission line in Omans Musandam Governorate

The transmission line will be built in tandem with the Governorate?s first natural gas-based power plant, which is currently the subject of a competitive tender.

Electricity from the power plant, which is expected to be around 120MW, will be supplied to towns and villages in Dibba and Khasab, supplanting diesel-based electrical generation for the first time in the Governorate.

The 132kV overhead transmission line will start at Tibat in Wilayat Bukha, where the power plant will be located. It will travel around 18km to Khasab and extend a further 80km all the way to Dibba.

Also, as part of the project, 132kV grid stations will be built at Tibat, Khasab and Dibba. The project?s substantial cost will be attributable to the extremely rugged terrain through which the transmission line will run.

Natural gas as fuel for the power plant at Tibat will come from a new integrated oil and gas processing plant currently under development by Oman Oil?s upstream subsidiary, Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production.