CID Gulf Secures Contract for Oman’s First Wind Turbine Manufacturing Project

CID Gulf LLC, an Omani-Moroccan engineering consultancy firm, has announced that it has secured a prestigious contract to provide design consultancy services for the establishment of Oman’s first wind turbine manufacturing project at Duqm SEZ. The client is Mawarid Turbines — a subsidiary of Oman’s integrated energy powerhouse, OQ Group.

Muscat-based CID Gulf is a joint venture established by Khonji Engineering Consultancy, a member of Mohamed & Ahmed Alkhonji LLC (MAK), a leading Omani tech-based products and services holding company and Conseil, Ingénierie et Développement (CID), a Moroccan consultancy engineering firm operating across the African continent and the Middle East.

“This project represents a cornerstone in the Sultanate of Oman’s move towards clean energy, local industrialization and long-term sustainability. We are honoured to contribute to this national initiative alongside key government and private sector stakeholders”, CID Gulf noted.

The award underscores a fast-track approach to the implementation of Mawarid Turbines — a landmark bid to localize wind turbine manufacturing to cater to the large domestic market as well as regional demand. Oman’s requirement for wind turbines to support the country’s energy transition — spanning grid-connected clean energy generation and the ambitious green hydrogen sector — is estimated in the thousands over the next couple of decades.

Phase 1 of the facility, to be developed on a sprawling 550,000 m² site in the SEZ, entails an investment of around RO 70 million. The wind turbine manufacturing capacity of this phase is projected at around 1,100 MW per year, focusing on the production of two turbine models — the 6.25 MW and the 9.6 MW. Technology for the project will be licensed from Shanghai Electric Group, a major player in China’s clean energy equipment manufacturing sector.

Among the first recipients of the turbines — covering not only nacelle hubs housing the generators but potentially other components as well — are grid — connected, wind-based Independent Power Projects planned in Al Duqm, Mahout and Sadah. While these projects will be developed by international developers (supported by their local consortium partners) selected through a competitive tender managed by Nama Power & Water Procurement (Nama PWP), OQ Alternative Energy (OQAE) — a wholly-owned subsidiary of OQ Group — has been assured a stake in them. This stake commitment, consistent with OQAE’s mandate as the national champion for renewable energy, covers an equity share of up to 25 per cent in all future renewable energy projects procured by Nama PWP, starting with the Ibri III Solar PV project — a 500 MW scheme slated for implementation in Al Dhahirah Governorate. In the case of the wind projects planned in Al Duqm, Mahout and Sadah, OQAE’s investment — in the form of locally manufactured wind turbines and potentially other contributions — will correspond to an equivalent stake in the respective project companies, it is learnt.

Phase 1 of Mawarid Turbines is expected to come on stream by late 2026 or early 2027.