OPWP rebrands and makes Manah contracts official: The Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) has rebranded to Nama and signed contract awards for the implementation of its 1 GW Manah I and II solar Independent Power Projects (IPPs), OPWP said on Thursday. The contract for the 500 MW Manah 1 was signed with Korea Western Power and French EDF Renewables. Construction on the USD 453 mn project is expected to start in November, with the completion date set for March 2025. The contract for the second 500 MW Manah 2 project was also signed with a consortium comprising China’s Jinko Power and Singapore’s Sembcorp in March.

ALSO- OPWP has issued requests for proposals (RFPs) and qualifications (RFQs) for three wind IPPs across the sultanate, Oman Daily Observer reported last week. Two of the wind farms for which OPWP issued RFPs and RFQs — the Duqm wind project and the Jalaan Bani Bu Wind — would come online in 2Q 2026, followed by the Harweel Wind project in 4Q 2026. The company has completed a year-long study to determine the potential energy generation capacity for each project, and is considering generation targets of 200 MW for the Duqm wind farm and 100 MW for each of the remaining projects, according to the news outlet.

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Dubai completes 6 MW biogas-to-energy facility: Dubai has finished constructing its 6 MW waste-to-energy (WtE) biogas production facility at the Warsan Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wam reported on Thursday. The biogas will be retrieved from the waste emitted by the water treatment process before being turned to energy and used to treat more water. The facility can generate some 44k MWh of electricity annually — enough to cover 50% of the treatment plant’s entire operational needs — and will lower operational costs by AED 320 mn over 25 years while reducing carbon emissions by 31k tons. Out of the 57k cubic meters of biogas waste produced per day, almost 55k can be retrieved to produce energy.

Egypt ramps up green investments and funding: Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad discussed with European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti the latest preparations to implement Egypt’s Green Sustainable Industry project, according to a statement released last week. Fouad said she looks forward to a final approval for the project ahead of signing the financial agreement. The project will unlock EUR 150 mn to support green industries and environmental compatibility. It will also provide concessional financing packages for both public and private industrial companies at estimated investments of up to EUR 268 mn to fund green projects, including recycling and renewable energy projects, especially in energy-intensive industries, the statement added.

More Korean investments in waste management? Fouad discussed with her South Korean counterpart Han Hwa-jin boosting Seoul’s investments in Egypt’s waste management sector, according to a statement. They also discussed potential ways for the two countries to work together to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags in cooperation with the private sector. The South Korean minister expressed interest in working with Egypt to produce energy from waste. She also expressed her country’s interest in providing Egypt with a grant to establish a center through which waste technologies can be imported.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Algeria plans to extract zinc and lead from its mining plant in the country’s Bejaïa Province starting in July and expects a commercial launch for the facility in December 2025. The plant will process c. 34 mn tons of extracted minerals from the mining site. (Statement)
• The UAE has managed to slash nitrogen oxide emissions from power generation by 20%. (Wam)
• The Saudi Environment, Water and Agriculture Ministry launched its Protect My Environment app allowing individuals to report environmental violations. (Saudi Gazette)
• Egyptian-Algerian telecommunications and fiber optics company Optiserve is entering the renewable energy market in Algeria by taking part in a tender for a solar project. (Attaqa)
• UAE’s Etihad Airways has reduced its CO2 emissions per revenue ton kilometer — the weight of passengers and cargo on a flight multiplied by distance flown — by 26% compared to a 2019 baseline. The findings were part of the airline’s 2022 Sustainability Report. (Statement)