KERP progressing ahead of schedule
Four out of the eight major remediation packages within the multi-billion-dollar Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Program (KERP) are advancing ahead of schedule, with significant achievements reported, according to sources from MEED magazine.
Reports indicate that over three million tons of soil has been treated, and unexploded ordnance has been successfully removed from over 40 square kilometers of land as part of the cleanup efforts, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The eight remediation packages, collectively valued at $1.4 billion, include five contracts awarded in 2021 worth $949 million. Originally slated for completion by late 2025 or early 2026, these projects are progressing smoothly, with half of them comfortably ahead of schedule, while the others are close to planning stages, according to MEED sources.
Initiated by the United Nations Compensation Commission to address environmental damage from the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the Kuwait Environmental Rehabilitation Program stands as the world’s largest environmental remediation project.
Furthermore, plans are underway for revegetation work under the program, with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) expected to award contracts for four separate packages, valued at approximately $675 million. These contracts, slated for late 2023 or early 2024, are anticipated to involve diverse work activities aimed at restoring the region’s environmental integrity.
