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The pearl of the Gulf
On the shores of the Arabian Gulf, very close to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates, the great rivers that were home to the first great civilisations in history, lies the state of Kuwait. Although its independence as a country is relatively recent (1961) it is one of the Photo: State Dep. US Gov oldest populated areas in the world, and has been inhabited for at least 4,500 years, as revealed by archaeological finds, including a perforated pearl.
Indeed, until the 1930s, when the first oil wells were discovered, Kuwait's main industry for centuries, along with trade with Africa and India, was pearling. And like them, their small size hides a treasure.
Beneath its almost entirely flat soil, the emirate has 10 per cent of the world's oil reserves. In 2024, new deposits were discovered, such as the offshore site near the historic island of Failaka, which was colonised by the Greeks under Alexander the Great.
But Kuwait has long looked beyond the oil industry and is committed to diversifying and developing its economy, taking advantage of its strategic location in the Middle East, at the centre of trade routes connecting Europe, Africa and Asia. Routes that in ancient times were by land or sea and today are also, and above all, by air.
Hence the importance of having airport infrastructures with capacity to cope with an ever-growing traffic. In 2024, KIA (Kuwait International Airport) recorded 15.4 million passengers, up from 8.5 million in 2011.
And not only that: the emirate aspires to turn it into a major regional air hub, with a capacity of 25 million passengers. To achieve this, it is carrying out the largest expansion in its history, which includes a huge, modern terminal, new car parks, access and facilities. It is one of the most important airport projects in the world, in which Ineco participates.
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Travelling to the future
In 2020, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) awarded the consortium led by Ineco the contract for the integrated project management of the three work lots into which the works were divided, as well as the ORAT (Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer) services, for a period of 50 months, which has just been renewed for a further 22 months.
The company-led team consists of 20 members, which is reinforced by local firms KUD (Kuwait United Development) and Dar Al Jazeera Consultants, for a total of more than 60 people.
“The aim of the Kuwait Airport ORAT project is to enable the terminal to operate smoothly from day one. To do this we have to get the basis (construction, systems, employees and operations) perfectly aligned. It is a challenge that requires the coordination of a large number of public bodies, consultants and contractors from different countries involved in the construction and future operation of the airport". ORAT Ineco team
The company has extensive ORAT experience in major airports in Spain like in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Alicante, etc. and in other countries like Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Newark (USA), etc. ORAT services include the planning, validation and execution of tests of all systems and procedures for the terminal prior to commissioning, as well as the familiarisation of personnel, to ensure that the start-up of the new facilities runs smoothly.
The extension also envisages a third runway and a new control tower, which are not included in the contract.
Nearly two decades of Ineco in Kuwait
Images: Ineco Archive
It has been almost two decades since Ineco carried out its first work in Kuwait: the planning, starting in 2006, of two railway networks, national and metropolitan, for the Ministry of Communications.
Subsequently, Ineco advised the Public Authority for Industry (PAI) on the planning and implementation of the Shadadiya industrial complex, some 25 km south-west of the capital.
And between 2011 and 2016 worked for the first time at the KIA, performing project management tasks and updating the 2010 Master Plan for the DGAC, the emirate's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the airport's operator.
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The flight of the falcon
Photos: Pixabay/ Foster& Partners
Located in the Farwaniyah Governorate (province), 16 kilometres south of the capital, Kuwait City, is Kuwait International Airport, which began operations in 1961.
It has two parallel runways of 3,400 and 3,500 metres in length and 11 aircraft parking aprons. It also houses a military base, and five terminals. The general aviation terminal (Sheikh Saad), which opened in 2008, is currently not operational due to expansion construction work. Also, the restricted access terminal reserved for the head of state, the Emir of Kuwait, the two terminals dedicated to national airlines, Kuwait Airways and Al Jazeera Airways, of 55,000 m2 and 4,750 m2 respectively, inaugurated in 2018 and T1, where the rest of the airlines operate.
The airport has two control towers, the main tower, 61.3 metres high, located between the two runways, and a movement control tower on the apron. This is not free-standing, but located on the T1 roof, the aircraft-shaped passenger terminal designed by the famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange in 1979. It occupies 190,000 m2 and has 16 boarding gates.
Photo: DGAC
The entire design is inspired by the physical and cultural environment of Kuwait. On the left, the entrance canopy reminiscent of the sails of the traditional dhow. Images: Foster&partners/Wikipedia SajjadF
Their stylised shapes are also reminiscent of birds of prey, which are highly prized in the country and throughout the region, such as the falcon, the national symbol of Kuwait, as well as the dhow, the traditional pearl-diving and fishing boat, which can still be seen today in the city's harbour. Both elements are present in the national coat of arms, and the new Terminal 2 is also inspired by them.
On the right of the picture, the existing terminal, showing the scale of the new T2. Photo: MPW/ own elaboration
“Terminal 2 is expected to generate approximately 15,000 jobs for Kuwaitis once operational, to be the face of Kuwait in the new era and to promote travel and tourism in the country. Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), 2022
Its trefoil-shaped plan, with three symmetrical wings, 1.2 kilometres long and 25 metres high at the centre point, is reminiscent of the triangular sails of the dhow, although they are so large that each wing could accommodate an entire T1.
The building, designed by Foster+Partners and Gulf Consult, is one of the flagship projects of the extension, which the Kuwaiti Ministry of Public Works has divided into packages of works.
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The desert trefoil
In orange, the actions included in lot 1 of works (T2). In green those of lot 2 (car parks and accesses) and in grey those of lot 3 (platform and other actions on the land side). Image: MPW
Package 1 actions include the new terminal building, a building for the cooling and electricity supply facilities, a building for the water supply and the provision of the future APM (Automatic People Mover) connection to the satellite building.
T2, a sustainable oasis
It is three times the size of the original building:
It has 36 boarding gates, 30 contact gates (21 for E/F/ 2C type aircraft and 9 for C type aircraft) and 6 for remote boarding.
It occupies an area of more than 700,000 m2, with five floors, one of which is underground.
Construction started in 2017 and currently 78.8% completed (as of January 2025).
It will have the capacity, at maximum service level, for 25 million passengers per year in a first phase, and up to 50 million passengers per year thereafter.
The more than 80,000 solar panels on the roof constitute the world's largest airport photovoltaic installation to date, while skylights harness natural lighting. Photos: MPW
Designed with sustainability and energy efficiency criteria in mind, and at the proposal of the Ministry of Public Works, one of the requirements of the project is to obtain LEED Gold environmental certification. To this end:
- Savings in air conditioning and lighting in a desert environment with temperatures reaching 50ºC in summer have been boosted by double insulated facades and roofs up to 25 cm thick, and more than 8,000 glazed skylights that maximise natural lighting.
- Self-generation has been chosen: the more than 80,000 photovoltaic panels installed on the roof will generate at least 23% of the energy consumed by the building, with the aim of making the terminal consume 42% less energy than a reference building.
The second package of works comprises a new car park with approximately 5,000 parking spaces, connected to the new passenger terminal. It also includes all new access roads to the airport, landscaping, and all other works associated with the landside.
The inside of the new car park building under construction, and image of the underground vehicle accesses and the future metro network. Images: MPW
Work package 3 comprises the main platform, new taxiways, several tunnels, including one under platform between the terminal building and the future cargo area of the airport.
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Black gold, blue gold
Kuwait's strategy (Dawlat al-Kuwayt in Arabic, meaning 'small fortress') to meet the challenges of the coming years is primarily to diversify its economy and manage the resource imbalance between two natural elements so valuable that both are compared to gold.
For one of them, oil, it is one of the richest countries in the world, accounting for 10% of the world's reserves. However, when it comes to the second, water, the opposite is true: it is one of the hottest and driest countries in the world. Its 17,818 km² surface area, which includes nine islands, is almost entirely desert, with no surface water sources on its territory, which means that it must desalination and other technologies to obtain the essential "blue gold". While this imbalance has not prevented the country from thriving as a global business centre, reducing it is one of the keys to the future.
At the same time, by developing sectors such as tourism, it is hoped to reduce economic dependence on oil, which currently accounts for 50 per cent of GDP.
These objectives are set out in the "Kuwait Vision 2035" strategy, based on seven points: improving the efficiency of public administration, developing human capital, a more diversified and sustainable economy, caring for the environment, improving the quality of health for citizens, transforming Kuwait into an international benchmark in the financial, logistical and cultural fields, and developing health, water and electricity, logistics, residential and transport infrastructures.
Among the latter, the most important are the new airport terminal, and the creation of rail links internally and with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
