The executive regulations for Kuwait’s 2014 public private partnerships (PPP) law, issued by the Kuwait Authority for Private Partnerships (KAPP) in March 2015, have been greeted with cautious optimism.

“This is a positive step. The new law was not clear last year as only a brief document was issued,” says Alok Chugh, a partner at UK law firm EY in Kuwait. “Some areas have now been clarified and new procedures have been introduced, but we are yet to see how these will be implemented and enforced.”

A high level of scepticism remains among developers, as the regulations have not met all their expectations, despite KAPP’s optimism.

“[Adel Mohammad] Al-Roumi, the president of KAPP, has survived years of political attacks unscathed, and now he is gaining respect and influence,” says one developer. “It will be a slightly easier process now, but KAPP will struggle to tender two major power projects simultaneously.”

Al-Zour North 2 IWPP (independent power and water project) is now expected to be tendered before Al-Khiran IWPP.

“The issues that delayed the signing and other contractual arrangements on Al-Zour North 1 made the government push to fix these issues and it is eager to make sure the next IWPP goes through,” says Chugh. “The interest of the investors for Al-Zour North 2 has been slow due to the past experiences ”

The Projects Technical Bureau, KAPP’s predecessor, tendered only one project, Al-Zour North 1 IWPP, between 2008 and 2014 due to its unclear, slow decision-making process.

The winning bid, a consortium led by France’s GDF Suez, with South Korea’s Hyundai undertaking the construction work, was selected in 2012. However, financial close was only reached in 2014, after Kuwait’s National Assembly voted to cancel the contract in 2013, a decision which was reversed later that year.

Umm al-Hayman Wastewater Treatment plant is also high on KAPP’s priority list. The national rail and metro projects are still in the feasibility stages and are unlikely to move forward in the near future.

The executive regulations clarify that interested developers must prequalify with KAPP, the central tenders committee and the relevant ministry. This prequalification is then valid for all projects which KAPP tenders.

However, developers’ recent attempts to prequalify have not gone smoothly.

“KAPP has not yet put their procedures in place, and this will take a few more weeks,” says Chugh. “There are also benefits tied in to the new foreign direct investment law but procedures are still being developed between KAPP and KDIPA [Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority] for this application.”

The executive regulations also include better terms for developers who propose projects, slightly altered risk allocation and more financing flexibility. KAPP should have greater autonomy and authority to make decisions on the tendering process.

Any project worth over KD60m ($199m) will be tendered by KAPP under the PPP law, with IWPPs covered by a separate 2012 law.

Projects worth in excess of KD250m will have to be approved by the Higher Committee, which includes several ministers.