Kuwait spends KD 1.71 bn on biofuel project
Date
8/22/2016 9:06:48 AM
(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
KUWAIT, 21st August, 2016 (WAM) – CEO of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Mohammed Ghazi Al-Mutairi announced Sunday that a collective KD1.71 billion has been spent on a bio-fuel project, which was locally and internationally financed.
In an interview with Al-Rai, carried by state news agency, KUNA, on Sunday, Al-Mutairi said that the funding was possible through loans from local banks which is given to them over a period of time.
KNPC has received three payments so far reaching KD339 million, with a remainder KD861 million which they will receive in divided payments until August 2017.
KNPC stated that regarding international funding, it has reached the final stage in negotiations with agencies in Korea, Japan, Britain, Holland, and Italy in which 20 international banks stepped forth and agreed to finance the portion secured to support the agencies' global exports.
KNPC's negotiation team is currently assessing which banks to do business with based on a specific set of criteria in which they will select three to five of the most fitting banks. It is anticipated that the second tranche in October reached US$6.3 million dollars. KNPC reported that 62.9 percent of the project is spread over refineries in Ahmadi with 53 percent in Mina Abdullah.
Al-Mutairi has assigned different groups to perform different tasks and said that the project is to be completed in the second half of 2018.
Al-Mutairi clarified that the number of workers involved in this project reached 26,000 and sometimes it required 40,000 workers. Al-Mutairi said that they signed a contract with the Spanish company, Tecnicas Reunidas that is worth 433 million dinars in which the project should be completed in 42 months.
Al-Mutairi said there are plans to build 100 gas stations and so far 19 have been built. The project will be completed in 2017.
WAM/tfaham