Japan-based Marubeni Corp has won a contract to build Oman’s biggest green-field power project, the Independent Power Project (IPP) at Sur.

Oman hopes the 2,000 megawatt plant will help meet the soaring demand for energy, alongside the Main Interconnected System (MIS) covering much of the northern half of the Sultanate, said a report in Oman Observer.

With this, Marubeni has received the license to design, build and operate the power-only facility estimated to cost around $1.5 billion, the report said.

The consortium headed by Marubeni comprises Chubu Electric, Japan’s third largest electric utility, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) and Multitech, the power engineering division of Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) of Oman.

The IPP is expected to be fully operational with a capacity of 1500-2000MW ahead of the summer of 2014, according to the report.