In August 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Oman's Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) was seeking technical advisers for a desalination scheme at Wadi Dayqah (Qurayyat), close to Muscat. The adviser was to draft tender papers and a contract for a privately developed water project under a build, own and operate model, with bids due on 2 October 2017. Under way at the time were Qurayyat with 200,000 m³/day (start-up expected by end-2017), Barka with 281,000 m³/day (mid-2018) and Suhar with 250,000 m³/day.
The report showed Oman preparing its next award while several large plants were still being built, again relying on private developers.