Kuwait embarks on policies creating dynamic private sector, ushering more development
The State of Kuwait is embarking on policies and projects that would create a more dynamic private sector in addition to ushering in an era of overall development.
Through seven axes points included in the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development’s 2023-24 annual plan, a whole program dubbed “enabling a dynamic private sector” would focus on general policies that would be reflected on the ground in actual execution.
The program to enable a dynamic private sector would be implemented through 17 projects supervised by nine government entities.
The program aims at transforming Kuwait into a hub that attracts investments via a direct involvement of the private sector, which would be tasked to create a feasible, just, and competitive environment that would push for innovation in various fields.
The financing of the program in the last fiscal year amounted to KD 168 million (USD 613.8 million) with spending on the 17 projects reaching around 48.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023-24.
The follow-up report on the aforementioned annual plan pointed to Al-Zour refinery strategic development plan within the framework of enabling the private sector, which would be executed by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). The report revealed that the project was at 99.9 percent completion.
Meanwhile, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) is partaking in seven projects, six of which were ongoing while a single project was in its essential stages.
Amongst the KISR-run projects is the national project to develop a laboratories network at 34 percent completion, while the project to farm salmon was in its initial stage at 46 percent in addition to a project for an economic complex to farm fish and shrimp.
In regards to projects supervised by the Public Authority for Industry (PAI), the report indicated that Al-Shidadiya Industrial Area project reached 82.5 percent in completion at an advancement rate of 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2023-24.
Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) is supervising two projects including the northern Al-Zour and Khairan stations energy projects.
Meanwhile, the Kuwait Direct Investment Public Authority (KDIPA) was supervising two ongoing projects including the economic region at a 62 percent completion as of the fourth quarter of 2023-24 and the project to expand the Kuwait free trade zone, which was at a mere 18 percent thus far.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA), on its part, is partaking in in a project to develop the financial market system, which at this point reached 28.6 percent.
The Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Resources is participating in a project to import, construct, and operate a Combined cycle power system to increase power generation in the Subiya Electric Power and Water Distillation Site at a capacity of 9,000 megawatts.
The legislative part of the program consists of 64 draft laws over the nine development programs with three of which aim at boosting a more dynamic private sector, developing government connectivity, boosting transparency, and pushing citizens and institutions’ capabilities forward.
On the eight policies to boost the private sector, the report mentioned it would help boost funding to joint public and private sector projects in addition to developing large-scale and high-quality production of priority economic sectors.
Other policies include boosting competitiveness, facilitating the establishment of commercial enterprises, in addition to improving and supporting direct investments.
Policies also include developing innovative products and services through technological and creative means as well as increasing the impact of small-to-medium size projects and companies through sponsorship.
Source: KUNA
