ASAR participates in Kuwait Projects 2013

Firm provides ways to manage PPP projects

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 27: ASAR-Al Ruwayeh & Partners (ASAR), one of the region’s top tier firms and Kuwait’s leading corporate law firm, recently participated in the Kuwait Projects 2013 Conference organized by MEED. The Conference focused on, among other things, exploring the latest business opportunities associated with Kuwait’s mega projects in the various business sectors including, oil, gas, electricity, water, transport, housing and basic infrastructure.

The Conference brought together major players in Kuwait’s mega projects including representatives from, the Partnership Technical Bureau (PTB), the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority, the Central Tenders Committee, the Ministry of Electricity and Water, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Health, etc. The Conference addressed among other things the latest developments and progress in the ongoing Public Private Partnership projects, as well as issues pertaining to the lessons learnt to date from projects that have been launched and the improvements that could be made to the project delivery processes to ensure successful delivery of the mega projects forming part of Kuwait’s development plan.

ASAR shared with the participants their key learnings derived from their ongoing experience as legal advisors to the Partnership Technical Bureau with respect to the Az Zour North IWPP (Phase 1) Project, which is currently the most advanced mega project being managed by the Partnership Technical Bureau. This has focused mainly on the changes to the legislation that have occurred recently and how this has impacted on the Az Zour North Project.

Ibrahim Sattout, the Partner at ASAR overseeing ASAR’s involvement in the projects noted: “We are proud to have participated in this MEED Conference. ASAR continues to provide sound legal advice to a number of prominent organizations and on numerous projects that are part of the country’s development plan.”

“The legal terrain in Kuwait continues to develop positively with the aim of aligning Kuwait with international best practices. With Kuwait having currently planned $16 billion worth of contracts for 2014, it is hoped that the new foreign direct investment law will set up a defined legal framework which will attract more international players to the Kuwait market,” added Sattout.

With dedicated offices in Kuwait and Bahrain coupled with its associated offices and relationships, ASAR provides clients across an extensive range of industry sectors with comprehensive legal advice and support for their business activities in Kuwait, across the GCC and beyond.

The firm has been consistently rated as the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Kuwait by reputable legal guides such as the Chambers Global Guide, International Financial Law Review and the Legal 500.

In their annual law firm Global Guide for 2013, Chambers & Partners have exclusively ranked ASAR as Kuwait’s only tier 1 law firm for business law. In 2013, ASAR was awarded National Law firm of the Year’ by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR), the market-leading guide for financial law firms worldwide. The firm also won the “Restructuring deal of the year award” award by IFLR this year.