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Kuwait unveils plans for $131bn worth mega projects in next five years
Kuwait is seriously planning on a wide array of mega projects to be released over the next five years, including the new business hub Silk City, revealed the media reports yesterday.
The State has set aside KD35bn of its bumper petrodollar earnings towards Silk City project, and a harbor, railway, and metro system, aiming to diversify its oil-dependent economy to become a regional trade and financial center.
This project is the first five-year development plan by Kuwait in a span of more than two decades, and is likely to be a major boost to the gross domestic product, diversifying the sources of income, while also helping private sector to be the leader in domestic economy.
A total of 1100 projects are included in the plan, which is awaiting approval by the Parliament, before execution. The plan will be sent to the parliament by the government for discussion next month. However, it is yet to be clear if all the projects will be funded by the State’s petrodollars.
Part of the $77bn Silk City will be financed by this plan. The project aims to revive the ancient Silk Road Trade route by being a major free trade zone linking Europe and Central Asia.
Located at the northern edge of Kuwait, near the Iraqi border, the City is all set to be the tallest tower in the world. On its completion in 2030, it will house a population of 700,000 and is likely to provide 450,000 employment opportunities.
The plan is scheduled for execution between 2009 and 2014, and also intends to complete construction of the long delayed 25km causeway linking Subbiya and the Capital and a mega container harbor in nearby Bubiyan Island to serve other Gulf States and Iraq. It also intends to construct a railway and metro worth a total of 11bn dollars or more, apart from creating about 50,000 housing units for citizens.
Kuwait has been long vying to diversify its oil-dependent economy, dominated by public sector. But the disputes between parliament and the government has led to delay in major projects. Last year the oil sector contributed to about 59 percent of Kuwait’s GDP with more than $110bn. Despite privatization of several state projects, the private sector’s share is still a little more than 30 percent.
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