KUWAIT - Kuwait will sign a contract next week with China Communications Construction ‍Company (CCCC) to complete ‍the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project, Public Works Minister ​Noura Al-Mashaan said on Thursday.

The Central Agency for Public Tenders ⁠approved on December 1 a contract between the ministry and CCCC ⁠for engineering, procurement and ‌construction of the port's first phase, according to the official gazette.

The contract is valued at 1.219 ⁠billion Kuwaiti dinars ($3.97 billion), a government document seen by Reuters showed. 

Kuwait's prime minister will attend the signing ceremony with the Chinese side, Al-Mashaan said in a ⁠statement.

Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, on ​Bubiyan Island in northern Kuwait, is a strategic project aimed at creating a ‍secure regional corridor and commercial hub. China has sought to link it ​to its Belt and Road Initiative.

Kuwait hopes the project will support economic diversification, boost GDP and help restore its regional commercial and financial role. The government says about 50% of the first phase has been completed but gave no details on remaining work.

The port is among several mega-projects Kuwait is pursuing with Chinese support, including power and water plants, renewable energy and ⁠waste recycling projects, as well as ‌new residential cities.

Kuwait signed several memorandums of understanding with China in 2023 during a visit to Beijing by then-Crown ‌Prince Sheikh Meshal ⁠Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who became emir in December 2023.

($1 = 0.3068 Kuwaiti dinars)

(Reporting ⁠by Ahmed Hagagy. Editing by Mark Potter)