Kuwaiti ministers are looking to secure billions of dollars from private companies to ensure the country's power projects are suitably funded over the next 20 years, according to Reuters.

The news agency is reporting that a key government official wants to secure investment that would help cover half of the country's anticipated electricity needs.

Kuwait’s electricity capacity is estimated at 17,000 megawatts (MW), and about 14,000 MW are scheduled to be added over the next twenty years, according to Kuwaiti media.

The use of public-private partnerships (PPP) will be key in delivering this increase, Fadheela Al-Hassan, head of the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects, told Reuters.

Al-Hassan, who has been in the role since April, was reported as having said: “Energy projects are priority projects, and the state is moving forward towards their implementation.

"There is a desire to rush such projects."

Al-Hassan said the feasibility studies for the Al-Zour 2 & 3 and Al-Khiran projects had been completed “and they are in the process of being approved now” by the board of the authority as part of preparations to qualify under the PPP plan.

The PPP programme in Kuwait is based on the creation of public shareholding companies that carry out projects managed by a strategic partner, and the goods and services produced are purchased by the government.

According to the law, 50 percent of the shares of these companies is allocated to Kuwaiti citizens, while between 26 percent and 44 percent is allocated to a Kuwaiti or foreign strategic investor, and the government owns the rest.

Al-Hassan expects the “financial closing” of the Al-Debdiba and Al-Shaqaya project will be in 2026, including the awarding of strategic investors and the establishment of project companies.