'KPA has appointed a consultant on a two-year contract that covers a study for the conversion of the functioning of Kuwait's ports to the private sector on a BOT [build-operate-transfer] basis,' says Ali Hussein, KPA's maintenance manager. 'The study should be finalised in six months and then a recommendation will be made to the KPA. The ports need long-term investment. The rest of the two-year contract will cover the award, implementation and monitoring of the BOT contracts.'

The consultant is Sharjah-based Gulftainer Company, which completed a masterplan for KPC last autumn (MEED 3:10:03).

The KPA board of directors has also approved plans for the acquisition of 11 new gantry cranes. Four of the gantries will go into Shuwaikh port, and the other seven into the larger Shuaiba port. Last September, KPA announced a KD 15 million-20 million ($51 million-68 million) investment programme for the ports' redevelopment and upgrade. At present, there are 20 berths each at Shuaiba and Shuwaikh, which are serviced by five gantry and two mobile cranes.

The investment in Shuwaikh will continue in the short term to sustain capacity until the first phase of the estimated $800 million proposed new port on Bubiyan island is operational (MEED 23:1:04). This too will be conducted on a BOT basis.

'Our existing infrastructure coped with the military demands of the coalition forces,' says Hussein. 'But they will not be able to handle the opportunities created by the opening up of the Iraqi economy.'