2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

KUWAIT PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Kuwait
Economics (2003)
GDP per capita US$17,960
GDP per capita (PPP) US$19,480
Population
2003 (million) 2.4
2015 (million) 3.0
Urbanisation in 2003 96%
Urbanisation by 2015 97%
In urban agglomerations, 2015 53%
Population and water
Kuwait has a population of 1.9 million people, all of whom effectively live in five urban areas. Virtually
all of Kuwait's water comes from government constructed seawater desalination plants. The Iraqi
occupation of 1990-91 caused considerable damage to these plants but most of them are once again
fully operational. One of these was the largest in the world with a production of approximately 200
million gallons of drinking water per day.
Drinking water
The Government is upgrading and expanding its desalination facilities. The Az-Zour facility (80 million
m 3 per annum) was extended to provide a further 50 million m 3 per annum in 2002 at a cost of $250
million. The original plant was built in the 1980s for $230 million. New desalination plants providing a
total of 40 million m 3 per annum were put into operation during 1997-98.
In 1999, Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity and Water awarded the construction contract for a US$500
million desalination plant for the proposed Sabiya New City development. Construction of the facility
will start in 2004 and it will enter service in 2007, supplying 83 million m 3 per annum of potable water
to the industrial area and existing water distribution complexes.
A plan for the sale of 300 million m 3 per annum of water by Iran to Kuwait, via a $2 billion dedicated
pipeline from Northern Iran, has been under development since 2002.
Freshwater
Annual availability (2000) 0.0km 3
Per capita 10m³
Annual withdrawal (1994) 0.0km 3
Domestic (1987) 37%
Industrial (1987) 2%
Agriculture (1987) 60%
Privatisation
The Employment Law for the privatisation of various non-oil state enterprises and utilities was enacted
in 1994. By 1998, the government had sold shares in 25 local companies worth about US$3 billion.
Kuwait has adopted the World Bank’s proposals for privatising the Ministry of Electricity and Water,
with the share sales to be handled by the Kuwait Investment Authority. Water services are currently
earmarked for privatisation in the medium term. Water is sold at US$2.40 per 1,000 US gallons to
residents, (or US$1.00 to tanker companies who sell it on at US$3.30 per 1,000 gallons) and US$0.80
per 1,000 US gallons to industry.
Groundwater
Annual withdrawal (1994) 126.5
Domestic (1987) 0%
Industrial (1987) 0%
Agriculture (1987) 100%
131 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006