Private sector opportunities in Kuwait will boom as a second year of record oil prices triggers government infrastructure spending, according to speakers at MEED’s upcoming Major Project Opportunities in Kuwait conference.
The event, which will be held in Kuwait on May 15 – 16, will also feature an optional half-day seminar on restoring the industrial infrastructure in Iraq (May 17).
Hani Hussain, CEO of KPC, will reveal the company’s 2020 oil production targets; while Farouk al-Zanki, managing director and chairman of KOC, will discuss boosting capacity, as well as how the discovery of new gas reserves will affect capacity.
Each of the key representatives from the oil & gas sector will shape discussions on the challenges and opportunities, including Hussain, al-Zanki, and Sami Fahad al-Rushaid, chairman and managing director of KNPC.
Day one will offer focused presentations from Kuwait’s key players in the hydrocarbon sector and plans to develop the upstream and downstream sector.
Included in these discussions is Hashim Al-Rifaai, deputy chairman and EAMD, Project Kuwait, who will discuss the way forward once Project Kuwait is approved by parliament.
This represents a chance for delegates to hear first-hand what the timeframe is for tenders for Project Kuwait, as well as future opportunities for IOCs to play a role in the exploration and production of oil and gas reserves.
Increasing capacity for power and water will also feature with an examination of project updates and the role of the private sector in power development.
As a result of increasing oil receipts, construction and infrastructure projects are on the rise. Day two will review Kuwait’s civil infrastructure plans, including the latest strategy for infrastructure projects and developments in construction and real estate as well as tourism.
Highlights of the conference include updates and implementation plans for Bubiyan and Failaka island resort, future road and causeway projects and progress reports on housing development in Subiya, Kheiran and Arefjan.
Eric Kuhne, the concept design and research architect for the ambitious Madinat Hareer (City of Silk) will update delegates on the project – which at $86,2 billion, is the largest construction project in the region to date.
Meanwhile, Hussain Al Mansour, Assistant Undersecretary for Roads, MPW, will present an update on public sector road projects.
A second year of record high oil prices and production has provided levels of liquidity not seen since the 1970s, and triggered expansionary spending by the government at rates reminiscent of the post-1990 reconstruction period.
Private sector activity benefited from government procurement and contracts, as well as from growth in consumer spending. Business investment remained robust, with high liquidity and profitability supporting the expansion of key industries, and many leading companies growing regionally and beyond.
The Kuwaiti economy expanded by 19 per cent during 2004. GDP reached KD 16.4 billion, with the value added by the oil sector up by 35 per cent to represent 53 per cent of the total.
GDP in 2005 is expected to have grown by roughly 30 per cent on the back of still higher oil prices and output levels and improving growth in non-oil private sector activity.
Kuwait’s per capita GDP remained among the highest in the region at KD 6,208 in 2004, with personal incomes only higher in Qatar and the UAE. Rapid population growth, which has limited the rise in per capita GDP, reached 8.4 per cent in the first half of 2005 following an 8.1 per cent increase in 2004.
Meanwhile, despite bureaucracy and delays in awarding projects, more and more international and regional contractors are also increasingly looking at Iraq as a place to do business.
Kuwait has also served as a safe launching pad for foreign companies doing business in Iraq, and local companies have continued to receive a considerable share of contracts awarded by coalition forces.
The opening up of Iraq has reactivated trade and business activity, playing an important role in driving economic growth.
Dr Mustafa al-Jarrah, director of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in Iraq, will drive discussions at the event’s interactive post-conference seminar on future developments and projects in Iraq.
Major Project Opportunities in Kuwait, one of MEED’s headline conferences, will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott on May 15 – 16, with the Iraq post-conference seminar taking place on May 17.
