South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction has won a contract worth $1.9bn to build, own and operate a desalination plant in Oman, The Korea Herald reports.  GS Inima, the company’s water services subsidiary, will carry out the work and operate the plant for 20 years for the Oman Power & Water Procurement Company.

So far, GS has raised $130m in finance for “Barka 5”, as the plant will be known. Altogether, some 70% of the finance is expected to come from the Export-Import Bank of Korea and financial institutions in Oman. The remainder will be borrowed from Hana Bank based in Seoul.

Barka 5 will be 60km west of the capital Muscat. When complete in 2024, it will process 100,000 cubic metres of water a day.

According to the Herald, GS Inima expects to get some $540m in revenue from the scheme.

Huh Yoon-hong, the president of GS E&C commented: “The Oman Barka project will be an opportunity for our company to expand its presence across the Asian market, not only in the Middle East.”