Kuwait navigates unchartered political territory
29 August 2024
Kuwait’s political situation and its near-term prospects for governance continue to hinge on the dramatic suspension of the nation’s parliament by Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
This drastic measure by the country’s leader came in response to a deepening political stagnation in Kuwaiti politics that has seen successive formations of parliament and government deadlocked over the most fundamental of fiscal legislation: approving the budget and raising the debt ceiling.
Underlying these stumbling blocks are allegations of fiscal and budgetary malfeasance levelled by the elected lawmakers in parliament at the ruler-appointed and ruling family-led cabinet.
In recent years, the proceedings in parliament have become increasingly acrimonious, with lawmakers frequently demanding the right to question cabinet members – a demand that has instead often simply resulted in the dissolution of the government.
Kuwait’s political system has often been described as a “democratic experiment”, as it was a first in the GCC to devolve significant legislative authority to a chamber of fairly freely elected representatives.
On 10 May, however, after the fourth election in four years in pursuit of a functioning government resulted in the same rigmarole, the emir triggered the system’s inbuilt circuit breaker for the first time since its establishment and effectively placed the experiment on hold.
Two days later, the emir announced the formation of a new cabinet headed by Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah as the returning prime minister. The country’s oil, finance and foreign ministers all retained their posts as well, making it a continuity cabinet, but in the absence of parliament.
Officially, the rules allow for the suspension of parliament for up to four years, enabling direct rule by the emir and his cabinet in the interim. Kuwait has thus returned, temporarily, to something of a default setting for the GCC. But it is a dramatic turn of events for Kuwait given the country’s well-worn electoral legacy – even as its other positively regarded attributes, such as a relatively free press, remain intact.
Project revitalisation
The emir’s decision is nevertheless being viewed in many quarters as a potentially positive development, not least in the projects sector. The political deadlock plaguing the country has been a salient problem for contractors in recent years due to the way parliamentary objections have impeded project spending.
Indeed, political disputes over capital expenditure have come close to scuttling Kuwait’s projects sector, which has seen its activity plummet over the past decade, with the country’s $16.5bn in contract awards in 2016 plunging to just $2.6bn in 2019 and averaging less than $4bn in the past five years. Given the parallel $100bn in project completions over the past 10 years, this fall in awards has resulted in a $50bn net decline in the value of projects under execution.
This loss of value from the projects sector has been detrimental to Kuwaiti contractors, who have been looking abroad in increasing numbers for alternative avenues of work. The drop-off in value in the project market has also been even more dramatic in certain industries, including the oil sector, where the total value of active projects fell from $65bn in early 2019 to just over $5bn by early 2023.
The reduction in oil sector projects, where constant work is required to maintain the performance of the infrastructure, is a threat to the main driver of the Kuwaiti economy and government revenues.
Given the country’s limited diversification and the accounting of the oil sector for 60% of Kuwait’s GDP and 90% of government revenue, the potential long-term consequences of the nation’s political dysfunction metastasising into dysfunction in the oil sector are considerable.
It is not surprising then that one of the first things on the agenda since the suspension of parliament has been the revival of oil sector projects – with the country’s Central Agency for Public Tenders now meeting three days a week since July to advance the tendering of major schemes.
Political correction
Political reform is also on the table. In his televised address to the nation on 10 May, the emir stated: “The recent turmoil in the Kuwaiti political scene has reached a stage where we cannot remain silent, so we must take all necessary measures to achieve the best interest of the country and its people.”
The presentation of the challenges facing the country in existential terms underlined the heightened perception that Kuwait was careening towards disaster amid political paralysis, falling oil infrastructure investment and snowballing expenses.
However, regardless of the “unimaginable, unbearable difficulties and impediments”, facing the country, the retaking of direct control by the emir and cabinet is no assurance that the trouble is over. The country still faces stark policy choices, including how to tackle its burgeoning public wage bill, which currently stands at about 30% of the country’s GDP and is only set to grow with rising pay and pensions.
These are costs that Kuwait cannot bear without robust oil sector development, and even that might not be enough. Economic projections have suggested public salaries could make up as much as 75% of the budget within five years, which could rapidly shrink the fiscal space for any other spending.
This is a burgeoning dilemma for the country that cannot be tackled overnight, but with four years of determined and unencumbered course correction, Kuwait could at least develop some more options.
Constitutional amendments could also be unveiled to prevent a return to political paralysis when a parliament re-forms. The ability of the house to override the emir’s veto with a simple majority, as well as to hold votes of no confidence for ministers, are two areas where changes could be made to smooth the political process – for example by requiring a super majority to overturn the emir’s veto or by making the conditions necessary to challenge the confidence in a minister more stringent.
Regardless, what is abundantly clear is that the existing system was not functioning as required – at the most fundamental level – in making basic legislative progress. Everything could now get back on track, but there are ample more “difficulties and impediments” to address, and Kuwait needs fresh solutions.
This month's special report on Kuwait includes:
> GOVERNMENT: Kuwait navigates unchartered political territory
> ECONOMY: Fiscal deficit pushes Kuwait towards reforms
> BANKING: Kuwaiti banks hunt for growth
> OIL & GAS: Kuwait oil project activity doubles
> POWER & WATER: Kuwait utilities battle uncertainty
> CONSTRUCTION: Kuwait construction sector turns corner
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Momentum builds for Syrian projects
25 May 2026
Support from the US, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has increased expectations about the development of infrastructure projects in Syria.
On 22 May, the US published guides to investing in Syria, funded by the US Department of State, that pointed investors towards 590 planned projects in the country.
The permanent removal of US sanctions in December last year, combined with fallout from the closure and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, has boosted interest in planned projects in the country.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
The route normally transports about 11 million barrels a day of oil and around 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas, as well as a range of other key materials and consumer goods.
The disruption to shipping through the strait has left nations in the Middle East scrambling to find new routes for imports and exports – and Syria plays a role in many of these new plans.
This has bolstered the country’s plans to become a regional trade hub.
Energy corridors
Already, Iraq is moving a large volume of oil by truck across the country to export it from Syria’s Mediterranean ports, such as Latakia or Tartous.
In April, Iraq’s state-owned oil marketing company, Somo, said it had awarded contracts to supply about 650,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil per month for overland trucking across Syria.
On top of this, Iraq is currently looking into reestablishing a pipeline route that transported oil from Kirkuk to the port of Baniyas in Syria.
The pipeline originally went into operation in April 1952.
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the pipeline was damaged by US air strikes and has remained out of operation since then.
There have been repeated attempts to either refurbish the existing pipeline or build a new one along the same route, but none has been successful.
In December 2007, Syria and Iraq agreed to rehabilitate the pipeline. The pipeline was to be reconstructed by Stroytransgaz, a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom.
However, Stroytransgaz failed to start the rehabilitation, and the contract was nullified in April 2009.
The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has added a new urgency to the project to reestablish pipeline flows from Iraq to Baniyas.
Syria could also play a role in plans for a pipeline to transport gas from Qatar to Europe via Syria and Turkiye.
The country could additionally form part of plans to rehabilitate and expand the Arab Gas Pipeline.
The pipeline connects Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, although the Lebanese section is not currently operational.
Trade routes
Beyond oil and gas, Syria is emerging as a key part of other plans for new trade routes.
Earlier this month, Syria’s Transport Minister Yarub Badr said the country was seeking to restore its role as a regional transit corridor linking Europe and the Gulf by reviving cross-border trucking and rehabilitating railway connections with neighbouring countries.
He said the overland corridor between the Turkish and Jordanian borders handled between 100,000 and 115,000 trucks annually in both directions before 2011. Freight rail services also operated between Tartous port and Iraq’s Umm Qasr port via Baghdad in 2009, he added.
He said Syria was coordinating with Turkiye, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to simplify customs and border-crossing procedures and facilitate freight movement.
Railway rehabilitation is expected to take longer due to extensive infrastructure damage and the suspension of cross-border rail links over the past decade.
Badr said Syria is working with the World Bank to secure grants ranging between $65m and $200m to support railway rehabilitation and restore Syria’s role as a regional transit route linking Turkiye, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
Earlier this month, Syria’s state-owned railway company, the General Establishment for Syrian Railways, and the operator of Syria’s Latakia International Container Terminal signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate container traffic between the Mediterranean port of Latakia and inland freight hubs.
The framework covers feasibility studies for moving containers by rail from Latakia to dry ports in Adra, Hasiya and Aleppo.
The feasibility studies are expected to take four months to complete.
Tartous port
Also this month, executives from the UAE’s DP World and Syria’s General Authority for Borders and Customs (GABC) met to discuss accelerating the development of Syria’s Port of Tartous.
Essa Kazim, chairman of DP World, met with Qutaiba Ahmed Badawi, chairman of GABC, to discuss opportunities to enhance infrastructure and logistics efficiency, ensuring the Port of Tartous is well-equipped to handle the anticipated rise in trade and cargo volume.
DP World’s plans to develop the Port of Tartous form part of a 30-year concession agreement signed in July 2025 with the Syrian government.
Under the agreement, DP World committed to invest $800m to upgrade infrastructure, expand capacity, and introduce modern cargo-handling and advanced digital systems.
DP World has said that, by fast-tracking the development of the Port of Tartous, it aims to boost its operational efficiency and capacity to handle diverse cargo types, including general cargo, containers, breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off traffic.
Rizwan Soomar, DP World’s chief executive and managing director for Central Asia, the Levant and Egypt, said: “The Port of Tartous development marks a defining moment in Syria’s journey of economic recovery and modernisation of its trade infrastructure. We are proud to contribute to this vital phase of growth.”
Located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the Port of Tartus is the country’s second-largest port and a key maritime gateway to trade routes across Europe, the Levant and North Africa.
Beyond the port itself, DP World is exploring other opportunities to develop infrastructure in Syria with local stakeholders. These include logistics zones, inland freight hubs and transit corridors.
US interest
US-based companies are also showing significant interest in participating in new projects in the country.
On 19 May, a delegation from the Houston-headquartered engineering company KBR travelled to Damascus to discuss road networks and infrastructure projects in Syria.
During one meeting, Syria’s transport minister outlined strategic projects currently underway, including north-south and east-west corridor projects, the Damascus-Aleppo highway and railway initiatives.
Badr said that companies were needed to update economic and technical studies for some projects.
While Syria and the US both have bold ambitions to expand Syria into a regional trade and logistics hub, the poor state of the country’s infrastructure is likely to be a key challenge.
It is likely that billions of dollars will need to be invested to rehabilitate the country so that its capacity to transport goods returns to levels seen prior to the civil war that began in March 2011.
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Alec confirms Sphere Abu Dhabi contract award
25 May 2026
Alec Holdings has confirmed that its subsidiary Alec Engineering & Contracting has received a letter of award for the construction contract for the $1.7bn Sphere Abu Dhabi project.
MEED had previously reported that Alec was the selected contractor and had been working on the project during the pre-construction phase. The construction is due to be completed in the third quarter of the financial year 2029.
Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) and US-based Sphere Entertainment announced earlier in May that they have selected Yas Island as the location for the project.
The venue will be built on a plot between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, close to Yas Island’s theme parks and attractions. The project will be the first Sphere venue outside the US. It is expected to echo the scale of Sphere Las Vegas, with a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on configuration.
DCT and Sphere Entertainment finalised an agreement last year for the construction, development and operation of the Sphere entertainment venue in Abu Dhabi. According to the agreement, Sphere Entertainment granted DCT the exclusive rights to build and operate the Sphere Abu Dhabi entertainment venue.
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Consultant wins Jeddah metro design
22 May 2026
French engineering firm Egis has been appointed to undertake the preliminary design consultancy for the Jeddah Metro Blue Line project.
The project client, Jeddah Development Authority, issued the tender in early January, when MEED exclusively reported that Saudi Arabia had restarted plans to build the Jeddah Metro.
Engineering consulting firms submitted bids in April, as MEED reported.
The Blue Line will run from King Abdulaziz International airport and connect to the Haramain high-speed railway station.
The line will be 35 kilometres (km) long and will include 15 stations.
Project history
Plans for the Jeddah Metro were first publicly floated in the early 2010s and were formally packaged into a wider Jeddah public transport programme around 2013-14.
In 2014, French engineering firm Systra was appointed to complete preliminary engineering for the Jeddah Metro, as MEED reported at the time.
In the same year, US-based engineering firm Aecom was awarded a SR276m ($74m) contract to provide pre-programme management consultancy services.
Under its 18-month contract, Aecom was expected to provide staff to support preliminary planning and design work for various phases of the metro project.
This was followed by the appointment of UK-based architectural firm Foster + Partners in 2015 to design the metro stations.
The project then stalled as government spending priorities were reset and major capital programmes were reviewed following the fall in oil prices in 2015, with the metro’s scope, cost and delivery model coming under reassessment.
Early concept designs envisaged a multi-line network integrated with buses and, later, other city-wide mobility upgrades.
Route details
According to Jeddah Transport Company’s website, the scheme comprises 81 stations and 197 trains serving more than 161km. The network will have four lines:
- Orange Line: a 44.8km line running along Al-Madinah Road and Old Makkah Road, with 29 stops including one at Obhur Bridge
- Blue Line: a 35km line running from King Abdulaziz International airport to the Haramain high-speed railway station, with 15 stations
- Green Line: a 17km line running through the city centre, from the downtown area to the Haramain railway station, with nine stops
- Red Line: A 59.7km line running from King Abdullah Stadium north to Old Makkah Street through King Abdulaziz Road and King Abdullah Road, with 25 stops
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Egypt signs gas deal with QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil
22 May 2026
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources has signed a preliminary gas agreement with state-owned QatarEnergy and US-based Exxon Mobil.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) focuses on cooperation in the development of natural gas discoveries in Cyprus.
The plan involves transporting gas from offshore discoveries in Cypriot waters to Egypt via pipelines.
In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources said that the deal would strengthen the North African country’s status as a regional hub for natural gas trading.
The agreement was witnessed by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli.
It was signed by Muhammad Al-Bajouri, from the legal affairs department of the Ministry of Petroleum & Minerals, and Kanan Nariman, vice-president for the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Exxon Mobil.
It was also signed by Ali Immunae, director of international exploration and production at QatarEnergy.
Commenting on the MoU signing, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, and president and chief executive of QatarEnergy, said: “This MoU represents an important step in advancing regional energy cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean through unlocking the long-term commercial potential of natural gas resources across that region.”
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources said the agreement paved the way for QatarEnergy and Exxon to take advantage of existing Egyptian infrastructure in the gas sector, especially the country’s existing LNG export terminals.
Under the terms of the agreement, a study will be conducted to analyse the feasibility of linking the gas discoveries in Cyprus to Egypt’s gas facilities.
The signatories will also establish a commercial framework aimed at achieving “the maximum possible benefit from natural gas resources in both Egypt and Cyprus”.
Egypt’s Minister of Oil and Gas Karim Badawi said the ministry has been working with ExxonMobil to explore cooperation on the development of gas discoveries in Cyprus.
He said the partnership with Egypt would help QatarEnergy and Exxon reduce the cost of developing the discoveries while allowing Egypt to achieve an economic return.
READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFGlobal energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> REGIONAL LNG: War undermines business case for Middle East LNG> CAPITAL MARKETS: Damage avoidance frames debt issuance> MARKET FOCUS: Conflict tests UAE diversificationTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16944918/main.jpg -
Kuwait’s Heisco working on active projects worth $3.5bn
22 May 2026
Kuwait’s Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) is in a strong position to weather challenges in the country’s project market, with active projects worth $3.5bn, according to documents seen by MEED.
The company also has active maintenance and service contracts that are worth $843m.
Heisco’s projects span the oil, gas, power, water, construction, transport and industrial sectors.
The company’s biggest active project contract is the $576m project to upgrade Kuwait’s Doha West power station.
This contract was awarded to Heisco by Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEW) in July 2024.
The company’s second-biggest active project is focused on the construction of crude oil pipelines and associated works in North Kuwait.
This $565m contract was awarded to Heisco by Kuwait’s state-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in February this year.
Other major project contracts include a $442m MEW contract for the rehabilitation of the Az-Zour South power and water distillation station and a $223m KOC contract for the construction of flowlines and associated works in the West Kuwait Area.
Heisco’s biggest active maintenance contract is worth $295m and is focused on providing mechanical maintenance services at Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah Refinery.
This contract was awarded by the state-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) in July 2023 and it officially started in September that year.
The contract is currently due to conclude in November 2028.
Heisco’s second-biggest active maintenance contract is worth $95m and was awarded by Wafra Joint Operations (WJO) for work in the Divided Zone, which is shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
WJO’s onshore operations cover an area of about 5,000 square kilometres in the Divided Zone.
Saudi Arabian Chevron and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company are equal shareholders in WJO.
Six major fields have been discovered in the WJO area to date: Wafra, South Fuwaris, South Umm-Gudair, Humma, Arq and North Wafra.
Heisco’s Wafra maintenance contract was awarded in October last year and officially started in November the same year.
The contract is expected to conclude in May 2031 and its scope is focused on the maintenance of tanks and vessels as well as the provision of welding services.
Market headwinds
Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been severely impacted by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which all of its crude exports are normally shipped.
The country recorded zero crude oil exports in April for the first time since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, according to shipping monitor TankerTrackers.com.
While the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is expected to have a significant impact on Kuwait’s project sector for some time, Heisco’s strong project pipeline is likely to help it weather the challenging economic environment.
READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFGlobal energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> REGIONAL LNG: War undermines business case for Middle East LNG> CAPITAL MARKETS: Damage avoidance frames debt issuance> MARKET FOCUS: Conflict tests UAE diversificationTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16792105/main.png