In the wake of persistent complaints by legislators, citizens and other road users about the pathetic condition of roads in Kuwait, and their poor maintenance over the years, Minister of Public Works and Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, Amani Bougamaz, held a meeting in early March with representatives of several embassies to ascertain whether large infrastructure companies in their countries would participate in road infrastructure development and maintenance in Kuwait.
The meeting has apparently begun to show results with the embassies of Turkey, Japan, China, France, Korea and Germany providing the names of 35 leading infrastructure companies in their countries that have expressed willingness to participate in road development and maintenance work in Kuwait, while representatives of the US embassy expressed their readiness to provide the required support and expertise in the field of infrastructure.
Specialized teams formed by the ministry for this purpose have reportedly opened channels of communication with the concerned companies overseas, and it is expected that discussions in this regard could be completed over the next two weeks. The ministry is understood to have stipulated that the companies selected for the road projects will first need to register with the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority and agree to open an office in Kuwait so as to facilitate the training of national youth and the transfer of technical expertise, as well as provide job opportunities for young Kuwaitis.
A total of 35 companies from the five countries have been shortlisted for the project, and all of them are pioneers in the field of infrastructure development, road laying and maintenance. Among the companies are 20 from Turkey, five from Japan, three each from China, Korea and France, as well as one company from Germany.
