Kuwait plans to award the contract to build a major seaport at Bubiyan Island in the northern Gulf, by the year end.

The proposal to build a seaport on the island, which will help position the country as the gateway to Iraq’s reconstruction programme as well as to regain its 1970s status as a regional hub, was made last November. Construction will be divided into three stages to end by 2016.
Tenders for the Bubiyan Seaport Project Phase 1-Stage 1 were made available for collection last month for pre-qualified contractors.
The first stage will be executed on the basis of a design-and-build contract. The 30-month contract is to be awarded before the close of this year.
The first stage of the project comprises soil treatment works to improve subsurface conditions necessary to allow subsequent works; a road bridge across Subiya Creek and a 35-km main road to link the western and eastern parts of the island.
Provisional items include a railway embankment and rail bridge along the new road route in preparation for a future rail link from the seaport to Iraq.
Over 17 international and local firms are vying for deals for the first construction phase to develop Bubiyan into the largest regional commercial seaport.