ASAR highlights key PPP law amendments
KUWAIT: ASAR - Al Ruwayeh and Partners (ASAR), Kuwait’s leading and most prominent corporate law firm, and one of the region’s top tier firms participated in the recently concluded ‘ MEED Kuwait Projects 2015’ conference which was promoting international participation in Kuwait’s USD 230+ billion potential project market. The conference, which took place at the Regency Hotel in Kuwait, provided an update on the status of the mega projects in the pipeline in Kuwait in the various sectors, including Kuwait’s oil, gas, electricity, water, transport, housing and infrastructure sectors, and focused on providing in depth solutions to challenges faced by said projects. The conference also addressed the increased confidence in Kuwait’s mega projects which is confirmed by the various new private partnership (PPP) projects tendered and the number of foreign investors shortlisted to bid to these projects.
ASAR’s involvement in the ground breaking Az Zour North Phase 1 independent water and power producer (IWPP) project provided the back drop of the firm’s contribution to the conference with respect to the lessons that had been learnt from this PPP project and the numerous other PPP projects that the firm is currently involved in, in various capacities.
Ibrahim Sattout - a Partner at ASAR participated in the panel which discussed the new developments in the procurement, award and implementation of the PPP projects in light of the amendments made to the PPP projects’ legal framework in Kuwait.
Sattout noted: “The new PPP law is part of a number of recent, positive legislative developments in Kuwait’s investment sector designed to encourage foreign investors as well as align it with international best practices. With the implementation of the new PPP Law , Kuwait should witness significant progress in the successful implementation of its projects, attracting new investors into the market and achieving its development goals.
Al-Zour North
During the panel discussion, Sattout emphasized on the key lessons learnt from the Al-Zour North 1 project and which were taken into consideration in the drafting of the new PPP law which while not sector specific, intends to transfer these lessons to all the other sectors as well. Additionally, the PPP Law holds a lot of promise with respect to facilitating the acceleration of procurement and implementation of PPP projects.
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 (IFLR) and the Legal 500. In 2015, ASAR was awarded with the IFLR National Law Firm of the Year Award; an award which ASAR has been delighted to receive for the 7th consecutive year. The firm also won the “Best Restructuring Deal in the Middle East” award by IFLR in 2014. Further, the firm won the prestigious “2014 Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year” and the “2014 Best Banking and Finance Legal Team -Kuwait” awards from Acquisition International Magazine in 2014. ASAR lawyers have also received multiple awards under different categories in the Fourth Edition of ‘Best Lawyers’ in Kuwait.