Kuwait has prequalified an additional three groups for major upcoming road works, bringing the total number of ventures it has prequalified this year to eight. The eight new groups are in addition to 33 groups prequalified last year. Kuwait adjusted the prequalification criteria this year, reducing the minimum annual financial revenues for prequalified companies from KD300m ($1.06bn) to KD100m.

The three new prequalified groups are:

• Saleh Jamal and Partners Company (local)/China Railway No 2 Engineering Group Company (China)
• Rawabi al-Kuwait General Trading & Contracting Company (local)/Sacyr(Spain)
• Almabani United Company (local)/FCC (Spain)

The five groups announced late last month were:

• Mushrif Trading and Contracting Company (local)/Samwhan Corporation (Korea)
• Projent General Trading and Contracting Company (local)/ Halla Engineering & Construction Corporation (Korea)
• Al-Mulla Buildings & Construction Company (local)/ MAPA (Turkey)
• Green Line General Trading & Contracting Company (local)/ China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (China)
• Scientific Combined Group General Trading & Contracting Company (local)/Afcons Infrastrucutures (India)

The 33 groups prequalified last year were:

• Khaled Ali al-Kharafi & Brothers Construction Contracting Company (local)/Metallurgical Corporation of China (China)
• Al-Manawar General Trading & Contracting Company (local)/Nurol Group (Turkey)
• Kuwait Group Company (local)/Archirodon Construction (Geneva registered)
• Canar Trading & Contracting Company (local)/STFA (Turkey)
• Al-Shuaiba United General Trading & Contracting Company (local)/Societe Egyptienne D’Enterprises (Egypt)
• 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 Contractors Osman Ahmed Osman Company (Egypt)
• Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (Egypt)
• Aktor (Greece)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• Societa Italiana Per Condotte (Italy)
• Salini Costruttori (Italy)
• Impresa Pizzarotti (Italy)
• Saudi Binladin 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)
• Ferrovial Agroman (Spain)
• Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) (Spain)
• Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Company (Spain)
• Habtoor Leighton (UAE/Australia)

The ministry is expanding the country’s roads network through a range of projects estimated to be worth $8.3bn, according to MEED Projects. The largest upgrade project is a 28-kilometre section of the Al-Jahra road in the centre of the country. The $1bn project is being carried out in five phases by the local Kuwait Arab Contractors Company in joint venture with Egypt’s Arab Contractors.

Kuwait is also planning to invest more than $7bn in building a regional road network outside of the capital, as it seeks to draw traffic away from the most heavily built-up areas. The main element is the $3.7bn regional highway project that will link the north and south of the state, and the seventh ring road, which will be an additional cross-country route for traffic.