TEC says to appoint CEO for airport services subsidiary

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Tourism projects ongoing with operation of company

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 2: According to reliable sources, the Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) is in the process of appointing a CEO for the Excellence Company for Airport Services, which is one of its new subsidiaries, reports Al-Qabas daily. They said, “The tourism projects are ongoing with the operation of the company following its suspension a few months before the founding of the general assembly of the Excellence Company for Airport Services, which owns 96 percent of its capital of one million dinars. The sources explained that the airport services company has a commercial license that is considered distinct at the level of local companies in Kuwait until now.

TEC established the company in the first quarter of 2018 in order to carry out commercial activities related to airports, such as ground and technical aviation services, loading, unloading and shipping of goods and passenger luggage, storage facilities, handling customs and free zones, renting, selling, owning and operating helicopters and non-vertical aircraft and spare parts, managing airport security and safety, managing all airport investment facilities that include the free market, advertisements, restaurants, shops and parking lots, managing all relevant facilities, and providing immediate maintenance services for aircraft.

Surprise
They expressed surprise over the fact that state agencies and some companies contravened the government’s directives, as top government leaders always announce that they are adopting a strategy to allocate many facilities and government “closed” companies to get rid of the burdens on their management and the spending on them. On the other hand, there are government agencies that are still continuing in the process of establishing “closed” subsidiaries.

The sources stressed that TEC is going forward with the process of creating new companies but this may contradict the observations of the State Audit Bureau, as the bureau’s reports of more than one year dealt with observations about the company’s strategy and its insistence on establishing subsidiary companies, despite its previously dissolved subsidiaries. They said the Kuwait Investment Authority’s establishment of an airport services company through TEC is an indication that the authority wants to enter into such an investment at the local level in the near future, and provide logistical services at local airports, chiefly Kuwait International Airport, in addition to providing services to airlines with a private sector mentality, which is characterized by flexibility, and the use of specialized human cadres, and modern technology for managing such a sensitive and vital sector.

The sources affirmed that TEC , which is wholly owned by the state, is concerned with operating, developing and managing tourism, entertainment and recreational assets and facilities, in addition to managing and operating its facilities, and working for the promotion of the leisure tourism industry in Kuwait. However, they asked, “What is the relationship of TEC’s activities and operation of airports? Didn’t it recently fail in its activity and incur major losses in its budget, so why allow it to move to work in another commercial activity?”

The sources indicated that the management of a new company for airport services needs a large administrative and executive staff with very high salaries, which would incur huge sums from the budget of TEC, due to which it is better to establish the company through one of the specialized government companies instead of joining it with a company that deals with entertainment aspects.

They clarified that the Excellence Airport Services Company is a closed joint stock company, and not a public one. This means its shares are not offered for subscription to the citizens. Perhaps after its operation and success in the future, the capital may be increased and it could be transformed into a public joint stock company, allowing for the distribution of its shares to the citizens.

This news has been read 26231 times!