Kuwait looks set to achieve a record breaking year in 2014 as far as contract awards are concerned, says MEED at the start of Kuwait Projects 2013 at the Regency Hotel Kuwait.

More than $24 billion in contracts could be awarded next year, double the value compared to the total this year.

Many of the opportunities will be found in Kuwait’s oil and gas sector, with EPC bids due to be submitted over the next three months for the two largest projects — the estimated $16 billion Clean Fuels Project (CFP) and the $7 billion Lower Fars heavy oil scheme.

“Oil and gas is not the only sectors of interest. Kuwait is embarking on one of the region’s most ambitious hospital expansion programs as it seeks to double the number of beds over the next decade. In education, construction work is ongoing on the $3 billion-plus Sabah Al-Salem new university campus, which is one of the most modern and largest campuses in the world when it is completed,” said Edmund O’ Sullivan, chairman, MEED Events, organizer of Kuwait Projects 2013.

Khaled Anwar Al-Awadhi, new refinery project manager, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) likewise supported a busier projects activity in the country’s oil and gas sector when domestic refining capacity is increased to 1.4 million bpd in the medium-term, and raising that further over the long-term to 1.6 million bpd.

Transport is another sector of focus. “Tenders will be issued soon for the long-awaited $3.2 billion new Kuwait International Airport terminal, while there are long-term ambitions for a multi-billion-dollar rail and metro network,” O’ Sullivan added.

As Kuwait’s population and economy grow, so too does the need for power and water. Through the PTB, which is responsible for the state’s ambitious PPP program, work is about to start on Kuwait’s first IWPP at Al-Zour North. The $2.5 billion project will be a pioneer for a raft of other upcoming PPP projects, including the $1.5 billion Umm Al-Hayman wastewater treatment plant and further IWPPs at Khairan and Al-Zour.

Over the long term, MEED sees a more robust projects market in Kuwait, with over $100 billion worth of contracts to be awarded and implemented over the next 10 years. Details of these developments will be revealed during the course of the two-day conference.

In recognition of its significance to promote infrastructure development in the country, Kuwait Projects 2013 is backed by leading authorities, including Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Works, and the Public Authority for Housing Welfare.

Meanwhile, private sector support has also poured in with Kharafi National signing on board as gold sponsor, Agility as silver sponsor, and Al-Tamimi & Company, Gulf Bank, Al-Tijari and Baker Tilly Kuwait as bronze Sponsors.

Additionally, Drake and Scull and PACE are conference sponsors, Shapoorji Pallonji as networking sponsor and Parsons as branding sponsor.