Construction

Kuwait metro contract under consideration

By Gavin Davids

Posted on September 27, 2012

Control Systems Company will be in charge of the first phase of the project if approved, metro official says

A contract undertaken by Control Systems Company to work on the preliminary stage of the Kuwait metro project is being considered for approval, an official has confirmed on Wednesday.

Fatmah al Kanderi, a supervisor on the project, said that CSC will be in charge of the first phase of the project, out of a total of five phases.

The first network of rail systems will link Kuwait City, and the suburb of Salmiya, with the Kuwait International Airport, she said. This will be followed by preparation for other phases down the line, which are set to be announced at a later date.

She added that the project will rest on cooperation between the public and private sectors, in accordance with law number seven for the year 2008.

In addition to Control Systems, there are four other contractors that are set to be confirmed as the executors of infrastructure deals related to the metro project, al Kanderi said.

Earlier this year, Kuwait’s government said that it was seeking proposals by contractors for the transaction advisory contract for phase one of the $7bn metro project.

The Kuwait metro network will 160km long, with a total of 69 stations. The first phase involves the construction of around 50km of track, with 28 stations. About 30% of the project will be underground.

Once completed, the government will own 10% of the project, and raise 50% of the funds through an initial public offering. The remaining 40% will be held by a private developer.

Spain’s Ingenieria & Consultoria de Transporte (INECO) provided the master plan for the system, while the project feasibility studies were carried out by a consortium of Al Dashti, INECO and the local Kuwait United Development group in 2006, which were completed in May 2010. The project is expected to be completed in 2016.