Abstract With notable privatisation activity and plans for expansion abroad, the Kuwaiti transport sector will progress toward a more prominent status as a regional hub in 2009. Kuwait International Airport handled 7m incoming and outgoing flights in 2007, a record number that pushed the airport to the limits of its capacity. The airport authority is now putting the final touches on designs for a restructuring plan which will enable the airport to cater to 20m passengers a year and compete with the ambitious regional counterparts like Dubai. Airport expansion plans have been matched with the robust health of the country’s aviation industry, marked in 2009 with the arrival of Wataniya, a new airline targeting the premium traveler segment, and the planned privatisation of incumbent carrier, Kuwait Airways. Back on the ground, the two largest players in the local transport and logistics market, Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company (KGL) and Agility, have been steadily expanding abroad. In April KGL signed a $2bn deal to develop an aviation complex in the Philippines, while Agility has been a major beneficiary of the US military’s presence in Iraq and completed a string of global acquisitions in 2008. KGL and Agility’s capitalisation on Kuwait’s geopolitical position is expected to continue in the medium term, while the long-term health of the industry, according to some, is dependent on an improvement in the legislative regime covering trading and shipping.
This chapter provides interviews with Abdulsalam Al Bahar, Chairman, Wataniya Airways; Mohamed Al Mazeedi, Chairman and CEO, KGL Ports International; and Abdullatif S Al Muhailan, Chairman & Managing Director, Mubarrad Transport.

View Table of Contents

View Sample Chapter for Free - The Economy