07/12/2025
Share:
07/12/2025
Share:
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 7: The latest annual plan follow-up report revealed that 21 projects, representing 15 percent of the total 141 projects in the development plan, have yet to commence. These projects involve 42 ministries and government entities and include major projects such as power procurement, the development of the Northern Economic Zone, and the Carbon Footprint Reduction Technologies Development Center. The 2025-2026 annual development plan report highlighted a focus on expanding the privatization of government assets and services through four important policies. The report explained that these policies are designed to support the implementation of the Public Privatization Program, one of nine programs included in the plan.
The program aims to expand the privatization of government assets and services by updating the legislative framework and introducing new privatization initiatives in operational sectors. It also seeks to enhance public finance reform, diversify revenue sources, improve service quality, and create job opportunities for citizens in the private sector.
The policies outlined in the report are:
- Developing legislative and regulatory frameworks to increase citizen ownership in companies designated for privatization.
- Supporting reforms to competition regulations in relevant sectors, a policy currently in progress.
- Establishing a public-private partnership (PPP) company in targeted sectors, with shares allocated to citizens in the education and health sectors at nominal prices.
- Developing a social safety net by providing education and health insurance for citizens following the privatization of operational sectors and reducing the budget deficit by capping it at 5 percent of current expenditures.
The report emphasized the importance of investing surpluses generated from privatization and distributing a portion of the returns to citizens. It identified the program’s main challenges as the low participation of citizens and the private sector in public asset ownership, the public sector’s dominance in operational sectors, and imbalances in public finances. The report stated that the program’s objectives include increasing citizen participation in privatized assets, gradually privatizing operational sectors, and restructuring public finances.
It noted that the program includes the privatization of the Shuaiba North Power Plant, which is being implemented through the technical unit of the privatization program with non-governmental financing. The General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development affirmed the need for developing radical solutions to handle the challenges facing projects included in the plan. It highlighted that some projects are experiencing huge delays despite the relevant authorities not reporting any obstacles to their progress
By Mohammed Ghanem Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
