MAJIS Industrial Services, Oman’s leading integrated industrial water solutions provider, has signed a RO27-million ($70.13 million) contract for the construction of a pumping station in Sohar in the sultanate.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was signed with a joint venture of Spanish infrastructure firm Tecnicas Reunidas and the Belgian construction group Besix’s Middle East arm Six Construct, for the construction of the sea water intake pumping station 2 (Swips 2) at the Sohar industrial port area.

The contract is expected to be completed in 27 months, inclusive of the three-month trial phase. The station will be able to provide nearly 320,000 sq m per hour of industrial cooling water for the tenants operating at the industrial port area.

Commenting on the new project, Khurram Shahid, planning and projects manager at the Majis, said: “Our first station Swips 1 became operational in 2006 and within a period of five years, full plant capacity was utilised necessitating establishment of the second station.

“The combined capacity of the pumping stations will make this facility one of the largest such installations in the Middle East. The seawater is screened and chlorinated to remove suspended, macro and microbiological elements before water is supplied to industrial users.”