KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait plans to conduct its first initial public offer of shares in an independent power project by this end of this year, selling a 50 percent stake, Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said on Monday.
Marzouq was speaking at a briefing by the government on its long-term economic plans.
The government had previously said it planned to sell shares in the Az-Zour North Independent Water & Power Project to the public in mid-2017.
The Az-Zour North One plant has a capacity of at least 1,500 megawatts and is structured as a public-private partnership. The project is 40 percent owned by three partners: France’s Engie, Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and Kuwaiti firm AH Al Sagar & Brothers.
Sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority, the Public Institution for Social Security, and PPP body Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects together hold 60 percent. A public share sale was a condition for the project once construction was finished.
