Kuwait, a country located in the Middle East, has a population of more than 4.4 million people. The highly developed nation has the best economy among all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, according to the World Bank, which in 2022 forecasted an 8.5 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Much of the country’s wealth has come from the oil and gas sector—oil is responsible for almost half of its GDP. Like some other GCC countries, it has gone to great efforts to diversify its economy, with a particular focus in tourism and real estate development.
Kuwait’s most ambitious project is the Sabah Al-Ahmad Sea City (SAASC), a 25-year development. When complete, it will feature a variety of attractions and housing for more than 250,000 residents across several artificial islands. The project also involves the construction of about 200 kilometers of artificial shoreline and waterways. Below is a closer look at the SAASC and its progress.
Multi-Billion, 10-Phase Project
The SAASC will be about the size of Manhattan when completed and will effectively double Kuwait’s coastline. Each resident of the new city will have direct access to the beach. The pioneering project was launched in the early 2000s by prominent real estate company La’ala, and construction is being carried out in a 10-phase development plan. According to Ian Williams, project director for La’ala, the SAASC is a “multi-billion dollar” development.
Named after Sabah Al Ahmad, the emir of Kuwait from 2006 until his death in 2020, the SAASC is being built along the coast of the Persian Gulf in southeastern Kuwait near the Saudi Arabian border. In addition to residential properties, it will feature a marina and multiple retail centers.
Now in the Fifth Phase
The SAASC was inaugurated in 2016, but there’s still plenty of work to do before it’s considered complete. To build the ambitious city, workers are excavating canals out of the marshland and using the excavated and washed sand to create artificial islands, strategically built above projected sea levels to protect against future floods. Now in its fifth phase, La’ala Kuwait Real Estate Company recently contracted CDE to design and deliver a new sand washing plant. The current plant has been in operation for more than a decade and was operating beyond its efficiency range.
CDE, a major supplier of sand and other wet processing equipment, is delivering a solution that will help ensure optimum product yield and plant utilization while mitigating the loss of high-value fine material.
“When commissioned, the plant will represent a major upgrade in wet processing technology to a system that will ensure consistent sand gradation, provide greater adaptability to handle variable feed material and maximize product yield,” said James Murphy, an area sales manager with CDE. “We believe our technical expertise and engineering excellence will support the SAASC project to meet production targets ahead of schedule.”
Environmental Considerations
La’ala isn’t just building an entirely new city from scratch but also a marine ecosystem. In doing so, the real estate development company has worked with partners to develop various environmental enhancement projects, including a coral garden and the planting of Grey Mangrove. In fact, a variety of salt tolerant plants were introduced as early as 2005 and completed a full life cycle by 2014. The city is now home to a diverse range of plants and marine species.
A team of scientists is also working to improve the coral potential of the SAASC with the hopes of developing more than 10,000 coral fragments into self-sufficient colonies that can be transferred to various sites in the SAASC. Moreover, through its environmental monitoring and enhancement program, the SAASC environmental team has discovered three new species of arthropods and three other specimens that are being studied by international specialists.
Inspired by Khalid Yousef Al-Marzouq
The idea for the SAASC was conceived by the late Khalid Yousef Al-Marzouq, the founder of La’ala who funded the entire project through his development company. A renowned businessman and philanthropist, Al-Marzouq played a pivotal role in the construction sector during the early years of Kuwait independence in the 1960s and 1970s. He also co-founded Kuwait’s Real Estate Bank and several other real estate entities. Moreover, Al-Marzouq led efforts to construct Kuwait’s first multi-story car park and pioneered cross-border real estate investments. He passed away in 2011.
Similar Projects in the Middle East
Kuwait isn’t the only GCC nation striving to alleviate its economic reliance on the oil and gas sector with major tourism and real estate investments. The Red Sea Project in Saudi Arabia is a similar development to the SAASC in that it will feature 22 developed islands and six inland sites with four dozen hotels and amenities like an 18-hole championship golf course, sand beaches, and a marina.
Other major ongoing development projects in the GCC include the Saudi Arabian resort city Qiddiya and the entertainment city Lusail in Qatar.