New measures to accelerate major development projects in Kuwait
Major government projects are facing significant administrative challenges, including slow contractual procedures and delays in obtaining approvals, accounting for over 40% of project obstacles.
• Many projects were delayed in recent years due to complexities in collaborating with other entities and ministries, causing prolonged documentation cycles, with some agreements taking up to three years instead of one.
A recent report highlighted new government measures aimed at speeding up major development projects by streamlining processes and resolving conflicts between overlapping government agencies, the Al Qabas newspaper reported.
The report showed that major projects require more than 420 days to complete the procedures for offering them to investors, broken down as follows:
- Ninety days for investor qualification procedures for the project offered by a government agency.
- Ninety days to prepare project tender documents.
- Sixty days to obtain approval from regulatory authorities, such as the Fatwa and Legislation Authority, on the contract documents and to finalize the project offering through auction.
It is noteworthy that the specified 420-day period applies only to projects that have obtained approval from the relevant authorities and have allocated financial appropriations, as these steps may take additional months.
Projects face administrative challenges
According to official reports, major government projects face numerous administrative challenges, most notably the slow documentary cycle of contractual procedures within departments and delays in obtaining required approvals from regulatory authorities. These challenges account for more than 40% of the total obstacles facing projects. Such problems are prevalent in most government projects, with few escaping the entanglement and slow progress in completing steps.
Reports monitoring project performance indicate that many projects were delayed in recent years due to the complexities of working with other entities and ministries, leading to prolonged documentation cycles and routine procedures. Some agreements that were expected to be finalized in one year took as long as three years.
Expediting major development projects
The government has emphasized the need to expedite major development projects, prioritizing them across all stages, including study, tendering, and implementation. The General Secretariat for Planning has been tasked with coordinating with government agencies to identify obstacles hindering the acceleration of project completion and finding ways to overcome them.
Previously, many workshops were held between government agencies to discuss the challenges of development projects, during which several solutions were proposed for the implementation obstacles. These efforts helped address many of the challenges and contributed to improving the completion rates of these projects, with the percentage of challenges accounting for 10% of the total administrative hurdles.
The Planning Department was tasked with coordinating with the relevant authorities to overcome all obstacles and challenges facing the implementation of the plan and to develop appropriate solutions, especially since most development projects suffer from slow documentary cycles, whether related to financial aspects, contractor failures, lengthy procedures, or the need for new legislation to advance completion work. Many projects, in particular, have been suspended for extended periods.
