GS Inima gears up for seawater desalination project in Oman

A 2.4 trillion won ($1.86 billion) seawater desalination project in Oman overseen by GS Engineering & Construction subsidiary GS Inima has kicked off, officials said Monday.

GS Engineering & Construction has signed financing documents for GS Inima’s project to build a Barka 5 Independent Water Plant in Oman, a deal reached with Oman Power & Water Procurement Co. in 2020, the company said.

Of the $130 million that will be needed for building the plant, GS E&C will be procuring 70 percent of the expenses from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and 30 percent from KEB Hana Bank, the company said.

The Barka 5 Independent Water Plant project involves building a seawater desalination facility about 60 kilometers west of the capital Muscat that can desalinate 100,000 cubic meters of water per day.

The project is a build-own-operate project, which means GS Inima will run the plant, which is expected to start operations in 2024, for 20 years, along with financing and construction. The firm is expected to rake in some 700 billion won in revenue.

“The full-fledged Oman Barka project will serve as an opportunity to expand our technology not only in the Middle East but also in Asian markets. The water treatment project is GS E&C’s future growth engine and representative eco-friendly project, and will solidify our status as a global leader in this field,” said an official from GS Engineering & Construction.

GS E&C acquired Spanish water treatment company Inima in 2011 and rebranded as GS Inima.

By Hong Yoo (yoohong@heraldcorp.com)