Kuwait University was established in 1966 with four colleges: science, arts, education and a college for women. This steadily expanded over the next few years with a college for law and Islamic studies and another for political sciences, business and economics opening in 1967.

Schools for medicine, engineering and petroleum, and postgraduate studies opened during the 1970s. Colleges for social studies, sharia and Islamic studies, health sciences and nursing were opened in the 1980s, and 1995 saw the creation of the college for business administration.

This was followed by colleges for pharmacy and dentistry in the late 1990s. Architecture and computer engineering colleges opened in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and a public health college was established in 2013.

Today there are a total of 16 colleges at the university, more than 1,500 staff and about 39,000 students. A major expansion plan for a new university city is under way.

New campus

The decision to build a new university campus at Shadadiyah was first made in 2004, with the foundation stone laid in February 2005. Sabah al-Salem University City will bring together all of the 16 colleges spread across Kuwait City and is intended to become a regional centre for knowledge and learning.

A 6 million-square-metre site south of Kuwait City has been allocated for the project, which is being carried out under the Kuwait University Construction Programme. Under this, Kuwait University is the client for the public buildings, rather than the Ministry of Public Works, which traditionally undertakes education projects.

To assist the university in delivering the programme, management consultants have been appointed, including a joint venture of US firm Turner with the local Projacs. Australia’s SMEC has also advised on the scheme.

The value of projects under way on the new campus is estimated by regional projects tracker MEED Projects to be $6.2bn, with construction moving ahead in phases.

Science college

The biggest contract awarded to date is the $667m package to build a new college of sciences. This was awarded in June 2012 to a joint venture of the Metallurgic Company of China with the local Khalid Ali al-Kharafi & Bros Company.

Seven major academic departments are to be built within this college. Like the other packages, it involves building facilities for both men and women. The final building will house 6,350 students and 1,330 staff and will have a built-up area of about 341,000 sq m. Completion of this building is scheduled for December 2016.

Kuwait hopes to appeal to GCC students by encouraging them to undertake their degrees locally

The science college is just one of 22 major contract packages that will deliver more than 70 buildings that make up the new complex. The project is being led by Qutaibah Abdulrazak Rezouki, director of the construction programme. The assistant director is Anwar al-Ibrahim.

Today there are $4.9bn in contracts under construction, making Kuwait University one of the most active clients in the country. Just a handful of contracts are left to be awarded, with the college of medicine and a 600-bed hospital being worth $800m. The university held a preliminary meeting with contractors and consultants to discuss the scope of the project in late September. The main contract award is not expected until 2017.

Human capital

Ultimate completion of the new University City is not scheduled until December 2025, although some facilities are expected to be ready long before this.

When it does open, Kuwait hopes to rival world-leading universities and appeal to GCC students by encouraging them to undertake their degrees locally rather than studying overseas. It also hopes that the state-of-the-art facilities will ensure that Kuwait has the human capital it needs to support its future growth.