Kuwaiti political issues causes concerns
Industry experts fear that delays and bureaucracy are scaring off global contracting firms
The political deadlock in Kuwait is raising concerns amongst global contractors that multi-billion dollars worth of projects will be delayed, regional construction industry experts have warned.
The uncertainty comes at a time when the Gulf country is forging ahead with several mega-projects that in some cases, it have been in planning for well over five years.
A report by MEED said Kuwait has $99.5bn worth of projects that are currently at the design, pre-qualification or tender phase, of which $55bn are in the country’s oil and gas, and power and water sectors, citing data by regional projects tracker MEED Projects.
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah dissolved the National Assembly in June and since then there has been confusion about which projects will be prioritised by the country’s new government.
“Everyone knows how much potential is in Kuwait,” a contracting source told MEED. “But with all the delays and bureaucracy you have to put up with, it is one of the most difficult markets in the Middle East.”
