Kuwait launches $320m fund to restore war-damaged assets

Kuwait has set up an emergency response fund with initial capital of KD100 million ($322 million) to repair national infrastructure damaged during the Iran war.

The Kuwait Emergency Response Fund aims to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to emergencies, the state-run Kuna news agency reported, quoting Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development chairman Sheikh Jarrah Al-Sabah.

The Middle East is facing a critical phase that requires heightened preparedness and coordinated action, said Sheikh Jarrah, who is also the foreign affairs minister.

Acting director-general Waleed Al-Bahr said the fund will evaluate and prioritise financing requests and monitor implementation, but government authorities will remain responsible for execution.

He urged government agencies and the private sector to contribute, strengthening the fund’s ability to respond to crises.

Over the past six decades, the Kuwait Fund has financed development and infrastructure projects in 106 countries.

The Iran conflict started on February 28, with Tehran striking oil, gas and water infrastructure assets across Gulf states.

• When the smoke clears: the cost of repairing Gulf energy assets
• Kuwait ‘could return to full oil production in three months’
• Kuwait to increase oil output and cancel force majeure

Last month the Kuwaiti government issued a decree allowing Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to operate on a more commercial basis with greater financial autonomy.

Kuwait’s oil production more than halved, from 1.16 million barrels per day in March to 573,000 bpd in May, according to producer group Opec. Oil exports account for about 90 percent of government revenues, making any prolonged disruption extremely damaging.

Kuwait International Airport was shut for 57 days, the longest closure of any airport in the region, after an Iranian drone hit the radar system on March 15.