OREANDA-NEWS. Sumitomo Corporation, in conjunction with Malakoff Corporation Berhad and Cadagua, S.A., have entered into a project finance loan agreement with the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (hereinafter “SMBC”), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (hereinafter “MUFG”), and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (hereinafter, "JBIC") for funding the Al Ghubrah IWP, a private sector desalination plant in Muscat City, Al Ghubrah district in Oman.

This project was awarded by the state-owned Oman Power and Water Procurement Company S.A.O.C. in November 2012, and Sumitomo has a 45% stake in the business.  The project company, Muscat City Desalination Company S.A.O.C., was established on January 19th, 2013. The plant, expected to be completed by October 2014, will provide over 190,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day over the course of 20 years, which is enough to supply over 800,000 people in the area.

The loan agreement, comprised of an all-Japanese team of financial institutions, will be co-financed by SMBC, MUFG, which is also the appointed financial advisor, and JBIC. Sumitomo Corporation considers this to be a valuable project to strengthen the ties between Japan, which aims to improve relations with energy resource-rich Middle Eastern countries, and Oman, which in light of rapid economic growth is pressed for additional social infrastructure including water production, and will aim for the prompt completion and commencement of the project.