Public-private partnerships market in Kuwait
In 2020, Canadian exports to Kuwait were valued at Can $96.4 million. The Government of Kuwait has an ambitious public-private partnerships (P3) program that promotes collaboration between the country’s public and private sectors to develop quality infrastructure and services for Kuwaiti citizens. In 2008, the Kuwaiti government established the Partnership Technical Bureau (PTB) to specialize in P3 projects. In 2014, Kuwait revised its P3 law and replaced the PTB by establishing the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP), which serves as the main body responsible for implementing P3 projects. KAPP is currently initiating several high-impact projects in seven key sectors to increase economic diversification and private sector participation in Kuwait. The seven sectors are:
- power
- water/wastewater
- education
- health
- transportation
- real estate
- solid waste management
To date, Kuwait’s P3 track record has been poor, as it has successfully completed only one project for power generation and water production in the country. While the P3 project pipeline looks healthy in Kuwait, project implementation remains to be seen. As Kuwait has been registering a budget deficit for the last seven years, the Kuwaiti government projects a cumulative budget deficit of KWD 55.4 billion (Can$231 billion) in the five fiscal years ending on March 31, 2025. Therefore, there is an expectation that the government may have stronger interest and incentive to utilize private-sector capital to execute the slow moving P3 projects. Nearly a dozen P3 projects are currently in the study phase in Kuwait.
Projects that provide the most promising opportunities for Canadian companies are related to renewable energy, conventional power production and water generation through desalination. Also, the upcoming metro and railway projects should provide good potential opportunities for Canadian companies; however, different local government entities will need to collaborate successfully first, to overcome barriers facing project implementation.
KAPP publishes its guidebook, legislation and information about its projects.
Kuwait is committed and actively working to improve its infrastructure and is open to doing business with Canadian companies. To get started, reach out to Raed Bishara, Raed.Bishara@international.gc.ca.
