Two members of Kuwait’s parliament have urged newly appointed Public Works Minister Ali al-Omair to not approve the award of the $4.3bn Terminal 2 project at the Kuwait International airport to the winning bidder without reviewing the award process.

Al-Omair was named to the post on 29 November, replacing Ahmad al-Jassar, who headed Kuwait’s Public Works and  Electricity and Water ministries until late September when he resigned.

Al-Jassar’s resignation was brought about by allegations of financial and administrative irregularities involved in awarding the multi-billion dollar airport expansion contract, among others, according to local media reports.

MPs Mansour al-Dhafiri and Saadoun Hammad al-Otaibi are understood to have urged Al-Omair to examine the airport expansion award and to not allow the contract to go ahead. Al-Otaibi, in particular, suggested he will be requesting the new minister to  appear in a parliamentary inquiry or interpellation if the contract is awarded without further investigation.

A joint venture of Turkey’s Limak Holding and local Kharafi National was selected for the terminal 2 expansion construction deal in August, although the final letter of award is still awaiting final approvals.

The MPW has been facing major public scrutiny for the long delay of the project, which was retendered in May 2015.

The official award letter and contract for the winning contractor for the Terminal 2 project is still awaiting approval from the state’s independent Audit Bureau.

Once signed by the Audit Bureau, the award letter and contract will have to be reviewed by the ministerial council and ultimately signed by the Public Works Minister, before it is handed to the winning bidder.

It is not clear how long it will take to obtain the final approval, a source familiar with the project tells MEED.

While the contract does not require parliamentary approval, it is understood that objections or questions raised by any member of the parliament will have to be addressed prior to official contract award, which could potentially further extend the award process or nullify its results.

In late October, another source familiar with the project has indicated that mobilisation for the project has begun following the award of the contract. Limak is also understood to have began seeking financing for the project in anticipation of the official contract award.

Al-Jassar was scheduled to appear before the parliament today, 1 December, based on an earlier request made by Al-Otaibi. However, the acceptance of Al-Jassar’s resignation on 29 November, two months after he submitted his resignation letter and on the same day a new minister was named, meant the interpellation has been dropped.

Al-Jassar also faces a two-year jail term, cited local media reports, over a 2007 electricity emergency deal that apparently cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars.