Kuwait appoints Drewry

The Government’s objectives were to establish the commercial feasibility of building an additional port; identify ways of addressing labour in any future concession; assess the impact Iraqi trade wouldhave within the next decade and would this develop into at least two million TEU’s per annum; identify the best method to promote private investment in the new port; and stimulate competition to improve existing port operations.

There was some concern over the employment impact a new privatised port operation could have.

According to Drewry’s private public partnership specialist, David Bayne: “This anxiety is normal in the early stages when privatisation is about to be introduced and always has to be sorted out before the technical work begins. To do so, we showed how protective clauses in the concession could secure no loss of employment without equitable compensation.”