Kuwait’s Central Tenders Committee (CTC) has approved the award of a KD264m ($925m) contract to a joint venture of Kuwait Arab Contractors and Egypt-based Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) for the upgrade of the Al-Jahra road. It is west of Kuwait City.

CTC approval is the final step before the Public Works Ministry can formally award a contract.

Once the contract is formally awarded, the joint venture will build a 7.2-kilometre-long viaduct between Jahra Gate and the UN Roundabout.

The road will connect Kuwait University, several hospital buildings, the Defence Ministry, Shuwaikh Port, and several planned developments.

Several important streets cross Al-Jahra road, including the second and fourth ring-roads, Ghazali Street, and Airport Road.

The other bidders were the local Combined Group Trading & Contracting Company at KD294m, the local Boodai Construction Company at KD280m, the local Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company at KD370m, and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company at KD402m.

The local/US team of Louis Berger International and Pan Arab Consulting Engineers is the design consultant.

In mid-November, the Kuwaiti and Egyptian joint venture won the KD304m contract to build Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah Hospital in Surra, a district in Kuwait City (MEED 17:11:09).

The hospital will have 1,050 beds and is one of the largest building projects in Kuwait.