Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders has approved the award of the KD79.25m ($262m) contract for the construction and maintenance of a new segment of the regional road in south Kuwait to local firm Alghanim International Trading and Contracting.

It is not clear if the final contract has been signed between Alghanim and the Public Works Ministry, the project client, which is understood to have put on hold road project awards earlier this year.

MEED understands the planned road extends from the Salmi road interchange to the Nuwaiseeb interchange close to Kuwait’s border with Saudi Arabia.

The scope of works include four interchanges, two roundabouts, two full clover leaf interchanges and a pedestrian crossing bridge.

Sources told MEED in April that MPW has put at least three road projects on hold in line with the ongoing review of the Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport (Part)’s mandate.

The projects which have been put on hold include:

• Major road and interchanges linking Kuwait City with the under-construction Terminal 2 at the Kuwait International airport
• Northern regional road from crossroad No. 58 to 82 (RA/260)
• Northern regional road from crossroad No. 58 to Salmi border check post

Part was created in 2014 to take over the planning, administration and operations of all land-based transport assets in the country.

However, its mandate is being reviewed due to complications in its functions that overlap with several other agencies including the Interior Ministry, State Ministry for Services Affairs and Kuwait Municipality.

Kuwait began transferring the planning, administration and operations of all land-based transportation from MPW and Communications Ministry (MOC) to Part in 2016-17.

The transition gained momentum last year when the country’ multibillion-dollar national rail road and urban metro public-private partnership (PPP) schemes were transferred from the Communications Ministry to Part