Construction Kuwait project awards reach highest level in seven years By Neil Halligan February 3, 2025, 9:00 AM Alamy via Reuters Half of all awarded project contracts in Kuwait went to the construction sector 50% to construction sector Oil sector contracts Water sector projects Project activity in Kuwait has soared, and the highest value since 2017 was awarded in 2024, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in its quarterly report. The bank said KD2.7 billion ($8.7 billion) worth of projects were awarded in Kuwait last year, an increase of 44 percent on the previous year. The figures were supported by strong activity in power and water and construction sectors, the bank said. The government is developing residential housing projects such as Al Mutlaa City and South Saad Al-Abdullah City and strengthening the domestic electricity grid. The last three months of the year finished with awards reaching KD1.2 billion, which was the best quarterly performance in eight years. NBK said the construction sector accounted for half of all awards, with the Public Authority of Housing Welfare making progress on its latest housing projects, including the affordable housing project in Al Nayeem area. Kuwait discovers new oil and gas reserves Kuwait’s state oil company to expand in Indonesia Climate and cost: the Gulf’s water scarcity challenge The water and power sector accounted for a total of KD370 million in contract awards. Kuwait Oil Company also awarded US oilfield services company SLB a lump sum turnkey drilling contract to drill and deliver wells in south and east Kuwait. SLB will manage the planning, construction, and drilling of 141 wells over a period of three years. Oil is a vital investment sector and Kuwait is planning to expand its production capacity by up to 40 percent, despite a bearish outlook for global demand and years of stagnant growth. Khaled Al Sabah, managing director at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and CEO of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, told an energy conference in January that the Gulf state plans to invest about $30 billion to increase output from 2.8 million barrels per day to 3.5 to 4 million bpd by 2035-40. “It is an ambitious plan, and I think we’re going to reach the target,” Al Sabah said. NBK said the near-term outlook “remains constructive, especially with the government expected to re-emphasise in its forthcoming economic agenda speedier implementation of Vision 2035 infrastructure development goals”. The real estate effect Fourth-quarter real estate sales in Kuwait reached KD1.08 billion, an increase of 40 percent year on year and the highest quarterly figure in two and a half years. The figures hint at an accelerated pace of market recovery from the softness recorded in 2023, NBK said. It said real estate activity should improve further in 2025, in line with broad trends in the non-oil economy, potentially lower interest rates and the prospective approval of the government’s mortgage law. Property prices in Kuwait continue to rise. “Limited availability of land, higher demand, lack of supply and longer time to build infrastructure have led to the surge in housing prices,” MR Raghu, chief executive of Marmore Mena Intelligence, a research subsidiary of Kuwait Financial Center, told AGBI in November.
