Mp Saleh Ashour Bombarded Finance Minister With Questions On Metro And Railway Projects

08 April 2016 Kuwait

MP Saleh Ashour has bombarded Finance Minister Anas Saleh with 58 questions on the metro and railway projects. This came a day after Ashour protested against pulling out the metro project from the Ministry of Communications to be under the Public and Private Sectors Partnership Authority. He argued the metro and railway projects will not see the light if they are left in the hands of the private sector.

Ashour said the head of the Technical Agency for Initiatives or Partnership Authority had earlier asked the government to grant the following privileges to the investor:

â–  Government grant amounting to KD 1.5 billion for the first phase of the metro project and KD 453 million for the railway project, around 40 percent of the total cost of each project.

â–  Guarantee for loans, about 50 percent of the amount borrowed for each project.

â–  Annual payment for the investor amounting to KD 529 million for the first phase of the metro project and KD 120 million for the first phase of the railway project.

â–  The government shall bear the risks estimated at KD 617 million for the first phase of the metro project and KD 405 million for the railway. The lawmaker wants to know if the government has agreed on these privileges for the investor, reasons behind preparations to launch the partnership for the implementation of both projects considering the government had earlier agreed on the BOT system, feasibility studies on these projects, ability of the private sector to complete metro lines within six years and the railway within four years, and actual cost of the projects with the participation of the private sector..

 

SOURCE : ARABTIMES

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