Kuwait and China have sealed a $4.1 billion agreement to complete the long-delayed Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, a flagship infrastructure project that the Gulf state hopes will transform it into a major regional trading centre and reduce its dependence on oil revenues.
Under the deal, China Communications Construction Company will take charge of engineering, procurement and construction for the first phase of the port, located on Boubyan Island near Kuwait’s northern border with Iraq.
The project is set to become one of the largest ports in the northern Gulf and a central pillar of Kuwait’s economic modernisation drive.
Kuwait has for years sought to upgrade its ageing transport and logistics infrastructure as part of “Vision 2035”, a national strategy aimed at diversifying the economy, attracting foreign investment and positioning the country as a commercial gateway between the Gulf, Iraq, Iran and Central Asia.
Progress on Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port has been slow since construction began more than a decade ago, hampered by funding issues and shifting political priorities.
The new agreement is expected to accelerate development and deepen Kuwait’s integration into China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s vast global infrastructure and trade network stretching across Asia, Africa and Europe.
The first phase will include a 1,200-metre container quay capable of handling 2.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units a year. Later phases are planned to add 14 more container berths, lifting total annual capacity to more than 8 million TEU and placing the port among the largest in the region.
Once fully operational, the port is expected to dramatically increase Kuwait’s cargo throughput and logistics efficiency, strengthen its position in global supply chains and stimulate growth in shipping, warehousing, processing and other port-related industries.
Officials say this wider industrial ecosystem will provide a crucial boost to non-oil sectors and long-term employment.
The agreement builds on a series of memoranda of understanding signed by Kuwait and China in 2023 covering infrastructure and development projects, with Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port identified as a cornerstone of their expanding economic partnership.