Kuwait Signs $4.1 Billion Deal with China to Complete Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port

Kuwait has signed a $4.1 billion agreement with China to complete construction of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, a strategic project aimed at boosting the Gulf nation’s role in regional and global trade.

The State Audit Bureau, the government body responsible for monitoring public funds, confirmed that the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the port on Boubyan Island will cost 1.28 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($4.164 billion).

Prime Minister Shaikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah attended the official signing ceremony, stating that the port project would significantly “enhance Kuwait’s share in the regional and international trade and global supply chain.”

Chinese acting charge d’affaires Liu Xiang described the agreement as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting the country’s continued investment in Middle East infrastructure.

This deal follows a series of agreements signed in 2023 between Kuwait and China, including memoranda of understanding covering Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, housing, water treatment, and renewable energy projects. The port project is a central element of Kuwait’s economic diversification strategy, aimed at strengthening trade, logistics, and the nation’s position as a regional shipping hub.

With China focusing on the Middle East as part of its decade-long Belt and Road Initiative under President Xi Jinping, the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project exemplifies growing Chinese investment in regional infrastructure and global trade networks.