Year-long negotiations between the Oman government and Dhofar Power Co (DPCO) bore fruit Saturday with the signing of an ambitious concession to build a fully private, vertically integrated power utility in Salalah by March 2003, The Gulf News reported Sunday.
Under the 20-year concession, the daily said, DPCO and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dhofar Generation Co, will intially invest $270 million to build a world-class 220MW gas-fired power plant in Salalah, the capital of southern province Dhofar.
The consortium, which also has the mandate to add new generation capacity, will completely modernize the Salalah transmission and distribution network, upgrade the voltage capacity to 132KV and extend the network to Thumrait and the suburbs of Mirbat in Dhofar.
According to the daily, DPCO is obliged to offer 35 percent shares to the public in Oman on the Muscat Securities Market within four years of its operation. It is also committed to have at least 75 percent Omani employees by the end of the 20th year – Albawaba.com
