Kuwait mulls new law to allow private sector to manage airport, ports

Kuwait’s government is planning new legislation that will allow the private sector to manage the country’s international airport and commercial ports.

However, the government will retain its ownership of the assets, Reuters quoted a senior government official as saying.

There is an urgent need “to revitalise the ports, whether sea or air, for commercial business”, Minister of Commerce and Industry Yousef al-Ali said. “We need to develop the management and transfer it to the private sector.”

He did not specify when the new legislation would be passed.

The current law only permits for the transfer of ownership in government assets.

Kuwait has debated privatisation of assets for several years now, but has faced strong opposition in the parliament. The privatisation of state-run carrier Kuwait Airways has been debated since 2008, but has not yet materialised.