Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry has pushed back the bid deadline by one month for the marine works contract at its new port on Bubiyan Island.

The new closing date is 24 January - a month later than the previous closing date of 22 December. The ministry has extended the tender several times before. The original deadline was 28 July.

The current prequalification list is Kuwait’s United Gulf Construction Company with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company; a consortium of Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Company with Turkey’s Tadamon Company and STFA Marine, and Belgium’s Jan de Nul; Geneva-registered Archirodon Construction Services with the local Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company; and Kuwait Arab Contractors with Egypt’s Arab Contractors.

The design-and-build contract covers the construction of a container terminal, four berths and a 1,300-metre-long quay wall, plus port buildings and utilities, digging and soil improvement works, and site levelling (MEED 23:10:09).

The ministry plans to tender a contract for dredging work at the port in a few months. The two tenders demonstrate that work on the project is about to accelerate after three years of slow progress.

The ministry originally planned to open the port in 2010.