Kuwait spends 263.9 mln dinars on development projects by Q3 of 2024/2025

The General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development revealed in its annual plan follow-up report that spending on Kuwait’s 2024/2025 development projects reached KD 263.9 million by the end of the third quarter (ending December 31, 2024).

This represents 23.4 percent of the total financial allocations of KD 1.1 billion. The spending rate was 1.4 percent lower than in 2023/2024 and on par with the 2022/2023 plan. Despite these figures, the report noted that 84 percent of the implementation challenges had been overcome, reports Al-Rai daily.

The report highlighted that the annual plan includes 133 projects spread across nine strategic programs. The sixth program, “Building a Cohesive Infrastructure,” contains the most projects (33), while the “General Privatization” program includes just two.

Out of the total projects, 122 are ongoing and 11 are newly initiated. Notably, 50 percent of the projects are still in the implementation phase, while 16 have yet to commence.

Spending performance varied across different programs. The “Building a Resilient Infrastructure” program had the highest spending rate at 24.5 percent, followed by the “Enhancing the Capacities of Citizens and Institutions” program at 23 percent.

In terms of schedule adherence, 26 percent of projects were in line with the plan’s timeline—slightly improved from 25 percent in the previous year but still below the 27 percent recorded in 2022/2023. Projects behind schedule accounted for 70 percent of the total, slightly better than last year’s 73 percent. The “Cohesive Infrastructure” program recorded the most delays, with 26 projects lagging behind.

The report also offered several critical recommendations. It urged authorities to accelerate the finalization of 14 pending draft laws essential for the development plan. It also emphasized the need to eliminate bottlenecks in spending caused by delays in budget approvals or disbursements, which have hampered progress in several key projects.

Furthermore, the report stressed the importance of invigorating public-private partnership (PPP) projects, noting that their performance has fallen short of expectations. It called for increasing momentum in preparatory efforts and identifying mechanisms to ease regulatory approvals for PPP ventures, thereby unlocking their economic potential.

To enhance coordination and oversight, the report recommended that executive entities participating in the plan expedite the completion of planning structures. These frameworks are vital for ensuring streamlined communication and integration with the systems used for plan preparation and monitoring.

The Secretariat highlighted that its efforts in improving monitoring systems have significantly contributed to early problem resolution and improved execution rates.

The report also called for fundamental solutions to long-standing challenges facing many projects. It noted that some initiatives remain severely delayed despite the absence of recorded obstacles, indicating underlying structural or administrative issues that require urgent attention.

Among the most prominent projects and their spending rates are Kuwait Cancer Center new building 99.72%; Jaber Al-Ahmad City 84.45%; Shuwaikh Port development 82.43%; Shaddadiya Industrial Zone 65.4%; development of airport’s eastern runway 48.28%; completion of 14 sports clubs 45.4%; Al-Mutlaa Residential City 38.48%; Sabah Al-Salem University City 28.15%; Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port 25.97%; Combating childhood obesity 25.93%; expansion of Kuwait Airport Terminal 2 17.58%

The key recommendations include providing radical solutions to project challenges, pushing forward delayed draft laws critical to the plan, addressing delays in budget disbursement, reviving private sector-driven projects and partnerships, defining clear mechanisms for regulatory approvals and obliging executive bodies to complete planning structures rapidly.