Kuwait Lauded As Best Investment Destination In Gulf

Economic reforms and project plans in Kuwait continue to gather steam with the government reiterating its commitment to rolling out ambitious infrastructure development plans despite the current relatively low oil prices.

Since the launch of a six-pronged economic recovery strategy at the start of the year, aimed at encouraging expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs), the government has awarded a number of high-profile public construction projects. This followed the new five-year plan which envisions more than US$100 billion in infrastructure spending.

Media reports in April pointed to a robust expansion of the projects market in Kuwait, with the total size of the local projects market, including public, private and planned developments, to be around $252.3 billion, a 2.8 percent year-to-date increase.

Although transportation mega-projects, including a metro and a national rail network, have been delayed, mainly on the back of low oil prices, social infrastructure continues to benefit from the surge in spending. The emphasis on hard and soft infrastructure, including new schools and utilities projects, is expected to support construction industry and non-oil growth in the near term, while a long-term finance agreement reached for the Clean Fuels Project at the end of April will further underpin future oil and gas growth.

Following the creation in 2014 of the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP), which is tasked with identifying and developing Public Private Partnerships, the agency has announced it will award the main contract for the second phase of the Al Zour North Independent Water and Power Plant, which will produce 1800 MW of electricity and 464,100 cubic meters per day of desalinated water.

This came alongside a contract bid for the $1.5 billion Umm Al Hayman wastewater treatment plant, which opened at the end of April, and a tender for the Kabd municipal solid waste project, expected in late May.

In the oil sector, in early March, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) awarded its largest contract so far this year. The $2.9 billion contract for construction of a new LNG import and regasification terminal was given to a consortium led by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

With so many projects being awarded or planned and the government keen on transforming the country into a financial hub for the region, analysts are now placing Kuwait as one of the best investment destinations in the Gulf region. They point to the legislation and legal frameworks that have been drawn up by the government to attract investment into the country, especially Law No. 116/2013 on direct foreign investment, and the role of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) in removing obstacles facing foreign investors and companies targeting Kuwaiti markets.

Comments Post Comment

Leave a Comment

Submit