Kuwait and China have signed a deal to develop Madeenat Al Hareer (Silk City). The $82.2bn megadevelopment will consist of the Burj Mubarak Al Kabir tower, a nature reserve, duty-free area and new airport, a large business centre and other facilities, in addition to five other Kuwaiti islands.
The deal was signed during a two-day visit by a high-level Chinese delegation. The delegation was led by vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Ning Jizhe, and Kuwaiti Ambassador to China, Sameeh Hayat, according to a report by the Kuwait News Agency.
Both officials met His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, along with Speaker of the National Assembly, Marzouq Al-Ghanim, and First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The first phase of the Silk City project aims to establish a regional trade zone in Mubarak Port, a logistics area for goods, an international airport and railways for transporting goods and people, and an industrial city for SMBs.
The two countries will work with the Chinese Construction and Communications Company to begin the collection of information, and to develop a work program for the investment, implementation and operation of Mubarak Port for phase one, either through long-term leasing or through public-private partnerships.