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Kuwait is set to sign a $3.2 billion contract this month with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the North Kabd North Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), according to a report by state news agency KUNA.
The update was announced during the 46th meeting of the ministerial committee overseeing major development projects, chaired by Minister of Public Works Dr. Noura Al-Mashaan, KUNA reported on 12 February.
The North Kabd North WWTP will have a treatment capacity of 1 million cubic metres per day (m3/day), making it one of Kuwait’s largest wastewater infrastructure projects.
The project will be developed under a contract that covers construction, operation, and maintenance.
Steel plant proposal
During the meeting, the committee also reviewed a proposal by China Baowu Steel Group to establish an iron and steel production facility on Bubiyan Island, near the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port site.
China Baowu, the world’s largest steel maker, was established in December 2016 by the merger of the former Baosteel Group with Wuhan Iron & Steel.
The Kuwaiti government is currently studying the possibility of co-investing in the project, according to the report.
Baosteel is currently building an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in Saudi Arabia in a joint venture (JV) with Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund. Baosteel owns 50 percent of the JV with the remaining stake equally split between Aramco and PIF.
In July 2024, Reuters reported that Baosteel will double its investment in the JV to $1 billion, up from about $437.5 million. The report said the project will have an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of direct reduced iron (DRI) and 1.5 million tonnes of steel plates.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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