Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry has prequalified 28 international companies to bid for upcoming major road projects in the country.

The international firms were prequalified after a series of delays, with firms initially invited to prequalify for the major road schemes in October 2010.

Chinese and South Korean contractors are the most represented in the prequalification list, with the Public Works Ministry prequalifying seven companies for each country for the major highway programme. Three companies from both Spain and Italy were prequalified, two from Egypt and single contractors from India, Saudi Arabia, Austria and UAE/Australia.

The prequalified international contractors are:

• Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) (Athens-based)
• Strabag (Austria)
• Sinohydro Corporation (China)
• China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
• China Major Bridge Engineering Company (China)           
• Corsan Corvian Construction (China)
• China Railway 18^th Bureau Group Company (China)
• China Railway International Limited (China)
• BCEG International Company (China)
• Arab Constractors Osman Ahmed Osman Company (Egypt)
• Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (Egypt)
• Aktor (Greece)
• Larsen &Toubro (India)
• Societa Italiana Per Conotte (Italy)
• Salini Construttori (Italy)
• Impresa Pizzrotti (Italy)
• Saudi Binladen Group (Saudi Arabia)
• Daelim Industrial Company (South Korea)
• Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Doosan Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Samsung C&T Corporation (South Korea)
• SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Ferroval Agroman (Spain)
• Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) (Spain)
• Taeoung Engineering & Construction Company (Spain)
• Al Habtoor Leighton (UAE/Australia)

Kuwait has a number of major road schemes planned as it seeks to upgrade and expand its transport infrastructure. In February, the assistant undersecretary of the Public Works Ministry for Roads, Saud al-Naqi, said that KD4bn ($14bn) had been allocated to implement 88 road projects over the next five years.

Although a number of smaller road packages were tendered in 2011, the Public Works Ministry has not tendered or awarded any large road projects since late 2010.

In December 2010, the ministry awarded a $840m contract to a consortium of the local Boodai Construction Company, Italy’s Rizzani de Eccher, Spain’s OHL and Italy’s Trevi Group to build a road and related infrastructure in the West Shuwaikh area of Kuwait. The work involves the construction of an elevated 11-kilometre-long road, with linked roads, paths and rainwater drainage systems at Gamal Abdel Nasser street.

Earlier in 2010, a joint venture of Kuwait Arab Contractors and Egypt’s Arab Contractors was awarded an estimated $965m contract for the project to upgrade the 7.2km Jahra road.

One of the major planned road schemes that has been in the pipeline for a number of years is the Nawaseeb road project. The work will involve upgrading the current 42km-long road into a six-lane divided highway, with five interchanges and grade separated U-turns. In 2008, the ministry appointed the US-based Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide design and construction management services for the project. The Nawaseeb road, also known as Route 40, links Kuwait with Saudi Arabia and is a major trade crossing between the two states.

In addition to traditional road schemes, the Public Works Ministry will oversee the construction of a couple of planned major causeway projects in the next few years.

According to sources in Kuwait, the government is expected to formally approve the contract award to build the $2.6bn Subiya Causeway in the next few months. The causeway will link Kuwait City with the Subiya promontory and Bubiyan Island, where various major projects are proposed. The planned causeway will be 37.5km long and incorporate a bridge spanning 150-200 metres.

The contract to build the planned Subiya causeway was approved by Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee (CTC) in February 2011, but has still not been awarded. CTC approved the $2.6bn low bid from the consortium headed by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company for the main construction package after receiving bids from contractors in October 2010.

The ministry recently invited prequalified consortiums to submit bids for the contract to design and build the estimated $1bn Doha Link bridge, which will link Shuwaikh to the port village of Doha in the Jahra region of Kuwait.

Prequalified consortiums have until 27 November to submit bids for the tender. The proposed Doha Link bridge will be about 16km long and will link up with the planned Subiya Causeway project. The bridge will contain three traffic lanes and an emergency lane in each direction.