KUWAIT: The Central Tenders Committee (CTC) approved a request by the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) to award a tender to a local company to develop and operate smart meters and special communication systems, after it offered the lowest bid of KD 22,066,175. The meters will help the ministry collect accurate readings when the new energy tariffs are implemented in May for the commercial sector (markets and shops) and August for the investment sector (apartment buildings).

Lack of funding

The Ministry of Public Works' (MPW) Assistant Undersecretary for Road Engineering Affairs Ahmad Al-Hassan said his sector is facing a problem of lack of funding for 11 new projects of a total value of KD 1.5 billion. Hassan added that MPW had sent 14 projects to the CTC for approval and that the finance ministry only provided funding for three of them. "The finance ministry neither approved nor rejected the tenders," he said.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi and A Saleh