01 May 2016

Kuwait will continue to support its KD6-billion ($19.9 billion) public-private partnership (PPP) projects programme, Anas Al Saleh, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and acting Minister of Oil said.

“We will continue to spend on our infrastructure projects, as planned. We have never seen such high levels of capital expenditure (despite low oil prices),” the minister said at Meed’s “Financing Projects in the New Oil Era” conference held recently. “We are focusing on infrastructure projects that work best and avoiding falling into the trap of economic stagnation because Kuwait’s economy depends on government expenditure. We are on full throttle and not holding back.”

According to regional projects tracking service Meed Projects, Kuwait last year awarded a record $31 billion worth of contract awards, and was the leading GCC projects market in the first quarter of 2016 as it ploughed ahead with its capital projects programme.

Kuwait’s PPP programme is being overseen by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP). Under the state’s PPP law, project companies should hold an initial public offering (IPO) after their selection on a PPP project, and Al Saleh said this was a good way of spreading the benefits of private sector project participation to the local population.

Al Saleh said any potential spending deficit could be covered by a combination of tapping into Kuwait’s financial reserves and going to the bond market.

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