New decree scraps Silk City authority in major shake-up

The decree also stipulates that the authority’s assets and resources, including contracts, agreements, projects, studies, documents, records, files and related financial allocations, will be transferred to the entities designated by the Council of Ministers. All associated rights and obligations will also be transferred. It further mandates the transfer of the authority’s permanent employees to the Civil Service Commission for reassignment to various government entities, while preserving their existing employment grades and salaries. The employment of all other staff members will be terminated in accordance with applicable rules and procedures. The decree also nullifies any provisions that conflict with its terms and will take effect from the date of its publication in the official gazette. In other news, the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) has started the procurement process for conducting consultancy studies on the Nuwaiseeb Power Generation and Water Desalination Plant project (Phase One).

KAPP asked the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) to commence the necessary procedures during its meeting on Nov 4, in accordance with Article 17 of Public Tenders Law No. 49/2016, which governs procurement through the ‘practice’ method (competitive negotiation or solicitation of proposals). In response, the CAPT Board of Directors postponed the issuance of its decision until KAPP submits a letter within five working days, incorporating the amendments discussed at the meeting. Last May, KAPP announced its plan to appoint a consultant to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on the project, prepare tender documents and manage the tendering process.

This is scheduled for the third quarter in line with the annual plan for the current fiscal year, and in accordance with Article 33 of Public Tenders Law No. 49/2016 and its executive regulations issued through Decree No. 30/2017. KAPP defined the scope of the consultancy services to include comprehensive feasibility studies and preparation of the tender documents. This work must comply with Law No. 39/2010 on the establishment of Kuwaiti shareholding companies tasked with constructing power generation and water desalination plants, as well as its amendments, executive regulations, and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law and its executive regulations.

The plant is one of the future facilities upon which the state will rely on to increase production capacity by about 7,200 megawatts. It will be tendered in two phases. The first phase has a capacity of 3,600 megawatts. The responsibility for the tendering process was transferred from the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy to KAPP in order to expedite the procedures.