Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s government on Sunday invited local and international companies to take the first step in bidding for contracts as part of its plans to develop three new cities to help tackle a shortage of housing in the oil-rich country.

The project to build the new cities, which will cover more than 300 hectares (740 acres) in total, is the first to be implemented under a new real estate development law that opens Kuwait’s housing sector to private investment.

Oil-rich Kuwait is struggling to meet housing demand among its 1.5 million citizens, and 100,000 people are currently on a government waiting list for a home, with some waiting years. The state provides housing for all Kuwaiti families.

The projects would be developed under a 2023 law which allows the government to set up joint companies with local and foreign private partners to build new housing to sell to Kuwaiti citizens, the government said in the Official Gazette.