KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait has signed a deal worth $4.1 billion with China to complete the construction of a major port, as the oil-rich country seeks to diversify its economy with a bigger role in global trade.
The State Audit Bureau, a government oversight body responsible for monitoring public funds, on Monday said “the engineering, procurement, and construction contract to complete the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project will cost 1.28 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($4.164 billion).”
Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah attended the “ceremony for inking the engineering-supply-construction contract for building Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port on Boubyan island,” state media reported.
He said the key project would “enhance Kuwait’s share in the regional and international trade and global supply chain.”
Chinese acting charge d’affaires Liu Xiang said the deal “constitutes participation in the ‘belt and road’ initiative.”
Minister of Public Works Noura Al-Meshaan signed the deal from Kuwait’s side, and deputy general manager of China Communications Construction Company Chen Zhong signed it from China’s side, according to Kuwait Times.
In 2023, Kuwait signed seven memoranda of understanding with China on projects including the Mubarak al-Kabeer Port, as well as housing, water treatment and renewable energy.
China has been focusing on the Middle East as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, a vast global infrastructure project developed over the last decade under President Xi Jinping.
