Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) has awarded a KD77.3m ($256m) contract to build, upgrade and maintain a 7-kilometre segment of the Al-Ghouse Road to local contractor Combined Group Contracting (CGC).

The scope extends from Al-Ghouse Road’s 5th to 6th Ring roads and will feature an elevated U-turn above the 5th Ring Road, one new roundabout on the Bayan area, two roundabouts on the Mishrif area, a six-lane flyover along Khalid bin Abdulaziz Road, an interchange and a footbridge.

The project is to be executed within three years.

Two other packages for the upgrade of Al-Ghouse Road are expected to be awarded soon. These include a 9.5km road that would extend from the Sabah al-Salem area to the 7th Ring Road, for which a low bid was submitted by Ahmadiah Contracting & Trading ($234m), and another 10km road from the 7th Ring Road to Fahaheel al-Ahmady road, for which a low bid was submitted by Kuwait Arab Contractors ($221m).

These projects align with Kuwait’s renewed focus to upgrade its infrastructure and address growing traffic congestion issues and travel time delays, particularly in roads controlled by traffic signal installations.

Approximately $9.3bn-worth of projects that consist of roads, tunnels, bridges and streets, and utilities are under execution in Kuwait while an estimated $8.9bn of such projects are under bid, based on data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects. Another $8bn of schemes are planned and unawarded.