Motlaq al-Sanei, who took up his post as general manager of Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) in April 2016, faces some serious challenges.

KAPP has a project pipeline worth well over $20bn, including power, water, waste management and rail projects. The public-private partnership (PPP) unit is under pressure to move ahead with successfully tendering and awarding these schemes.

Al-Sanei is aware of the work ahead.

“It is not an easy assignment,” he says. “But in the government’s development plan the mandate is clear, so we have no choice but to proceed. PPP is not established in Kuwait, so it a new experience for KAPP and all government bodies.”

KAPP tendered five projects, including the Al-Zour North 2 independent power & water project (IWPP), in late 2015. This followed reforms to Kuwait’s PPP framework in 2014 and the issuance of new executive regulations.

The legislative reforms are intended to avoid a repeat of the issues that delayed Al-Zour North 1 IWPP.

“We hope that we now have the optimal legal framework,” says Al-Sanei. “We are working with other government bodies as we all have to be agreed on the format and culture of the law. There should be one model and we don’t want a different model for each project.”

Bringing all the key stakeholders on board is an important element to ensure the smooth roll-out of PPPs in Kuwait. These include the relevant government bodies for each project, such as the Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW) and Kuwait Municipality, regulatory bodies including the State Audit Bureau, and the Kuwaiti public.

Kuwaiti citizens will eventually become shareholders in the projects, so standards and protections for them must be high.

“We are putting the majority of the equity with Kuwaiti citizens,” says Al-Sanei. “So we have to have an optimal and secured legal framework, and things like a minimum return on equity.”

For the Al-Zour North 1 IWPP, 50 per cent of shares will be offered to the Kuwaiti public following full commissioning of the plant, set for November 2016.

Al-Sanei believes that significant progress has been made in the past few months in closing gaps in expectations and balancing the conditions for the projects. These may be improved or adjusted after each project depending on the experience, but will stay fundamentally the same.

“We are working hard with our legal advisors and the Fatwa and Legislation Department to get the legal contracts approved,” explains Al-Sanei. “We are trying to limit the number of extensions, but sometimes it is the bidders that request them – it’s normal practice.”

Bids for the Al-Zour North 2 IWPP will be accepted on 21 June, but other projects such as the Kabd solid waste treatment facility and Al-Abdaliyah integrated solar combined-cycle (ISCC) plant do not have firm deadlines.

The technical details for the Al-Khiran IWPP are being finalised with the MEW, and it will be tendered after the Al-Zour North 2 IWPP has been awarded.

Feasibility studies have been carried out for the Kuwait National Rail Road and the Kuwait City Metropolitan Rapid Transit projects. KAPP’s Higher Committee will discuss the conclusions of the national rail project study soon, although the metro is not currently on its agenda.

Reduced oil revenue, far from putting the PPP programme in question, is underlining its importance.

“Low oil prices will encourage [us] to speed up and accelerate PPP projects as a tool to reduce the financial burden and to enhance direct investment in the GDP of Kuwait,” says Al-Sanei.

KAPP also hopes it will encourage the provision of high-quality infrastructure services. The authority is putting all its efforts into delivering the projects as planned.

“Right now, we have our pipeline and we are preparing the documents,” says Al-Sanei. “When we have more projects, then we can talk about our achievements.”