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Chinese firm signs Mubarak port early contractor involvement

2 May 2025

Beijing-headquartered China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has signed an early contractor involvement (ECI) agreement with Kuwait to develop the next phases of Kuwait’s Grand Mubarak Port.

According to local media reports, the initial works cover surveying, investigation, hydrological observation, geophysical exploration, testing, model testing, process simulation, design review, owner inspection, preliminary design of sand retaining embankments and on-site services and management.

The project launch ceremony was held in mid-April and was attended by several high-profile representatives from Kuwait and China, including Fu Xuyin, China’s vice-minister of the Ministry of Transport, Zhang Jianwei, the Chinese ambassador to Kuwait, and Nora Mohammad Al-Mashaan, Kuwait’s minister of public works.

In January, MEED reported that Kuwait’s cabinet had approved a bid from China Communications Construction Company to implement all stages of its Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project.

The country ramped up its efforts on the project after meetings between Kuwaiti and Chinese officials in June last year.

In 2023, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for developing infrastructure works for the port.

Phase one of the project cost $1.2bn and was completed in 2014.

The project’s first phase included site levelling and the development of a marina, quay walls, berths, a navigational terminal and port buildings.

The port is not operational because the phase one works did not include vital equipment such as cranes.

It is understood that the completion of phase two will allow the port to start operations.

The full scope for phase two of the project is expected to include:

  • Construction of loading and unloading facilities
  • Construction of quay walls and reclamation
  • Construction of container yard and back of the port
  • Infrastructure works
  • Construction of buildings
  • Construction of container terminal
  • Construction of associated facilities
  • Installation of safety and security systems

A third phase is also planned, which will further expand the port.

The latest developments follow a series of agreements signed in September 2023 to deliver some of Kuwait’s immediate development goals between 2024 and 2028. These agreements will position Chinese companies to play a leading role in the Fourth Kuwait Master Plan 2040.

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Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index inches upwards
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Yasir Iqbal

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