KUWAIT:  The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) signed contracts on Sunday with Saudi's ACWA Power and the Gulf Investment Corporation for phases two and three of the Al-Zour North power plant.

The value of these phases of the power plant exceeds 1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($3.27 billion), the Kuwaiti authority's director general told Reuters. Asmaa Al-Mousa said that the investors, not the government, will bear the cost.

The signing ceremony on Sunday sets in motion one of the country's biggest electricity projects as it seeks to address severe electricity shortages.

Once completed, the Al-Zour North project will produce 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of power and 120 million gallons of water daily using combined-cycle technology, with construction set to take three years.

Kuwait expects a significant improvement in electricity services once several major projects come online, including a large-scale venture with China, Adel Al-Zamel, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said during the signing event.

Since last year, the government has resorted to planned power cuts in some areas to reduce the load.

"If (the projects) go according to plan, by 2028 our situation will be much better," Al-Zamel told reporters.

Kuwait hopes to sign an implementation agreement with China in the first quarter of 2026 for phases three and four of the Shagaya renewable energy project, with a combined capacity of 3.2 gigawatts (GW), Al-Zamel said.

($1 = 0.3054 Kuwaiti dinars) (Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy Writing by Jaidaa Taha and Menna Alaa El-Din Editing by David Goodman, Elaine Hardcastle)