Kuwait’s Free Economic Zone, Silk City will cover 250 square kilometers in Subiya, an area located on the north shore of Kuwait Bay opposite to Kuwait City.
An estimated cost of the project will be $86 billion (€76.1 billion)
A vast project, it will be built in stages during the next 25 years. It will also includes five islands in the vicinity: Failaka, Warba, Miskan, Awha and Boubyan, the last of which will host the port with 24 berths.
AECOM, the U.S. infrastructure group already carried out a feasibility study and developed the design of a deep water navigation channel for the port.
As for the skyscraper, the Mubarak Al-Kabir, it will rise 1,001 meters and have 234 floors. With everything from hotels, residences, offices as well as entertainment amenities, it will be able to house 7,000 people.
The city itself, meanwhile, will have housing for up to 700,000 people.
It will comprise four quarters or villages, according to the Press Agency. There will be an airport, hotels and resorts, a sports academy, a medical Centre, an Olympic Stadium, national parks and nature reserves. Surrounding the Silk City will be a green belt of gardens and green spaces.
The Economist Intelligence Unit says the zone will be to offer 450,000 jobs.
The zone is to become a regional hub for trade and finance, linking the Gulf to Central Asia and Europe. Although it takes the name of Madinat Al-Hareer, the zone is better known as Silk City
The causeway, officially known as the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway, the longest of its kind in the world – will open this year, while plans for the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port are progressing.
In November 2018, Kuwait signed a memorandum of understanding with China to enlist its help in bringing the free economic zone to life. China is the biggest importer of oil globally and the destination for more than half of the Middle East’s oil exports. It is therefore an important market for Kuwait, reads a comment published by The Economist Intelligence Unit after the signing.
FDI is still underdeveloped in Kuwait, and we think it is the best thing for the country and the right time to invest, Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, Kuwait’s prime minister, was quoted as telling a conference last year by The National, a regional newspaper.
The emir is exultant about the possibilities that the plan will transform Kuwait into a financial and commercial center where the private sector leads the economic activity, encourages the spirit of competition and increases the efficiency of production» he says.
The sectors where Kuwait wants to channel FDI include housing, healthcare, transport, tourism and renewable energy
