Projects worth $17 billion being implemented in Kuwait – MEED
Syed Hamid Behbehani tops list with $3.4 billion
KUWAIT CITY, April 28: The MEED magazine has reported that the projects that are being implemented by 10 contracting companies in Kuwait are worth about $17 billion, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to the magazine Syed Hamid Behbehani & Sons Company tops the list of companies in terms of the volume of projects and put the net worth of contracts at $3.4 billion, followed by two other local companies, the Ahmadiya Contracting and Trading Company with $2.6 billion and Mohammed Abdul Mohsen Al-Kharafi & Sons Company with $2.1 billion.
The Turkish Limak Company came in fourth place with contracts worth 1.7 billion dollars, followed by Al-Ahlia International General Trading and Contracting Company in fifth place with 1.5 billion, then Al-Hani Contracting and Trading Company and Al-Ghanim Trading and Contracting Company in the sixth and seventh places respectively with 1.2 billion each.
Finally, three local companies, United Gulf Contracting, Badr Al Mulla & Brothers Company, Al Ghanim and Jabour Company, ranked eighth, ninth and tenth, with contracts worth $1.1 billion each. All the projects are in the implementation phase, according to the magazine.
Performance
MEED pointed out that the performance of the construction market in Kuwait has been consistent over the past three years, with the value of contracts awarded reaching $2 billion in both 2019 and 2020, rising to $3 billion in 2021, a level lower than the awards in 2017 and 2018 which amounted to 3 and 5 billion dollars respectively.
The magazine added, “This may be a result of the completion of work on these old projects, and therefore we see that the market will face pressure as a result of the shrinking of the size of awards.”
The magazine indicated that the most active international company is the Turkish company Limak, as it is working on its contract to build the new terminal at Kuwait International Airport at a value of $1.7 billion, pointing out that the rest of the top ten are local contractors, which confirms the lack of international interest in the Kuwaiti market.
The sources stated that this may change in the future if Kuwait is able to move forward with major infrastructure projects such as its part of the railway network in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.