KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) plans to reassess its needs for expatriate workers to decide whether to extend their contracts when they expire or let them go. The assessment process will help the ministry in its efforts to hire Kuwaiti manpower instead of foreign workers with expiring contracts, Assistant Undersecretary for Power Plant Operations and Maintenance Fuad Al-Aoun said.

Meanwhile, Aoun said that the ministry plans to increase liquefied gas consumption rates at power plants to 880 million cubic feet per day during peak periods this summer, as well as import gas all year round in order to shorten gas units' maintenance periods. Aoun said the maximum power consumption expected this summer would be 14,900 megawatts out of a total capacity of 17,000 megawatts.

By A Saleh