Singapore's Sembcorp wins Oman private power deal

MUSCAT, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Oman has awarded Singapore's Sembcorp Utilities (SCIL.SI) a 15-year contract to build a 450-megawatt power plant in the southern port city of Salalah, a tender board official said on Sunday.

"Under the private power agreement, Sembcorp will finance, operate and owned the Salalah power plant in a 15 year agreement with the government," the tender board official told Reuters.

Sembcorp Utilities, wholly owned by Sembcorp Industries Ltd, outbid Marubeni Corporation (8002.T) of Japan, General Electric (GE.N) and others in a tender issued early this year.

The official declined to say how much the plant will cost Sembcorp to build but industry sources said it would be close to $1 billion.

The power plant will supply electricity to the expansion of the Salalah free trade zone and new housing units planned in the area. The power station will also have a desalination unit, an industry source told Reuters.

Oman is looking for private investors to build some of the power plants to help the Gulf Arab state to fuel its projects.

(Reporting by Saleh al-Shaibany; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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