Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee (CTC) has approved the award of a KD328m ($1.1bn) contract to a consortium of the local Mohammed Abdulmoshin al-Kharafi & Sons with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company for the marine engineering works contract on the planned port on Bubiyan island.

The design and build contract involves the construction of a container terminal, four berths and a 1,300-metre-long quay wall, as well as port buildings and utilities, digging and soil improvement work, and site levelling (MEED 23:12:09).

CTC approval is the final step before a formal contract award is made. The Public Works Ministry is the client.

The approved consortium submitted the lowest bid in January this year.

The approval is the final step before a formal award is made. The Public Works Ministry is the client

The second lowest bidder was a team of Geneva-registered Archirodon Construction Overseas with the local Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company. The group submitted a price of KD345m.

The other groups competing for the contract were a consortium of Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Company with Belgium’s Jan de Nul and Tadamon Company and STFA Marine, both of Turkey, with a bid of KD404m; and Kuwait Arab Contractors with Egypt’s Arab Contractors with a price of KD456m (MEED 26:10).

In April the works ministry invited firms to bid for the consultancy contract for the second stage of the first phase port development. The contract includes design audit and construction supervision services (MEED 18:4:10).

The project is behind schedule after three years of slow progress.

The port was originally planned to open in 2010 after a local/Chinese consortium of Gulf Dredging & Contracting, Shaheen al-Ghanim Roads & Bridges and China Harbour Engineering Company started work on the KD115.7m first-phase construction contract in late 2006.

The Bubiyan port is part of the government’s plan to spend $10.8bn on infrastructure development by 2013.

The $2.5bn Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad bridge project is another of the emirate’s current priorities. The government has set a deadline of 8 July 2010 for the submission of bids on the main construction deal, which includes designing and building a bridge linking Kuwait city to Subiya City and a second bridge linking the Kuwaiti capital to Doha village, 20 kilometres north of the capital (MEED 22:3:10).

Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry has invited seven consultants to bid for the second stage of the first phase of the estimated KD328bn Bubiyan port project.

The ministry began re-tendering packages on the port in October 2009 after three years of stagnation.