Kuwait seeks PPP investors for car super-showroom

• Local and foreign companies invited
• 500,000-sq-m site in Al Jahra
• Kuwait trying to revive PPPs

Kuwait is seeking private partners to build and run a car-trading complex as it tries to revive long-delayed projects and attract capital into an economy dominated by oil revenues.

The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects has invited local and international companies to express interest in its Kuwait Motor Auction and Auto Showroom public-private partnership (PPP). 

The proposed site is in Al Jahra Governorate, northwest of Kuwait City, and measures about 500,000 square metres.

The Kuwaiti authorities want the complex to serve as a regulated, centralised marketplace, combining physical and digital auction platforms, auto showrooms and services for dealers, financiers, insurers and government agencies.

This would modernise car auctions and improve transparency and efficiency in the country’s fragmented auto sector, according to the tender announcement.

Kuwait is trying to restart its pipeline of large-scale PPPs after years of slow progress.

While Gulf neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE have accelerated non-oil investment through mega-projects, Kuwait has struggled to overcome political and regulatory delays. Few PPP projects have reached financial close.

The International Monetary Fund reported in December 2024 that Kuwait was lagging behind its peers in diversification efforts.  

Kuwait’s Vision 2035 strategy aims to transform the country into a regional financial and trade centre, attracting more private investment in state-backed projects. 

The suspension of parliament in 2024, which followed years of political gridlock, has given the government space to push through some stalled initiatives.

In January last year Kuwait’s finance minister said around 370 projects worth $42 billion had been included in the country’s 2025-26 draft budget.

However, Kuwait is forecasting a fiscal deficit of KWD6.3 billion ($20.4 billion) for 2025-26, up 12 percent on the previous year. Its breakeven oil price has risen above $90 a barrel.

Proposals for the auto-trading complex must be submitted by January 29.

Further reading:

• Kuwait and other Mena states hit by US visa freeze
• Opinion: The year China conquered the Middle East car market
• Kuwait oil production costs up more than 1,200% since 2000