In October 2018, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Oman Power and Water Procurement (OPWP) had received nine prequalification submissions for the Barka/North Al Batinah desalination scheme. Two plants were planned, of 150,000 m³/day in North Al Batinah and 100,000 m³/day in Barka. Applicants included Acwa Power, Cobra, GS Inima, IPSA, Suez International, Valoriza Agua and Veolia Middle East, plus groups led by China Geo-Engineering with Al Fairuz and Hyflux, and by Utico together with FCC Aqualia and Majis. Their status was still to be confirmed.
The report showed how broad interest in Oman's desalination tenders had become, with European, Chinese, Saudi and regional companies all applying at once.