GE WINS 2 GIGAWATT POWER DEAL

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000911 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/ESC/IEC/EPC COMMERCE FOR ADVOCACY CENTER ENERGY FOR GINA ERICKSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG SENV EPET KU SUBJECT: GE WINS 2 GIGAWATT POWER DEAL REF: A. KUWAIT 847 ¶B. KUWAIT 823 ¶C. KUWAIT 722 ¶1. (U) On September 14, Kuwait's Minister for Electricity and Water, Dr. Bader Shebib Al-Shuraiaan called Ambassador to say that Kuwait had signed with a GE-led consortium to build the $2.4 billion Subiya power plant project. Separately, GE's Dubai based representative contacted the mission to pass on the same message. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: GE's victory, after intensive high-level Embassy advocacy led by the Ambassador, is welcome news both for Kuwait -- which is facing dramatically increasing power demands -- and for U.S. firms, which have faced a run of problems with major Kuwaiti projects (including the 4th refinery and the failed K-Dow joint venture). Al-Shuraiaan has committed himself to moving forward a number of critical power projects and this is an important first step. Whether this marks the long-awaited end of the major project drought in Kuwait will become clearer once the Parliament resumes in October ) at which point the government will have an opportunity to vigorously push an infrastructure agenda (or not),and the elected assembly will have the option either to cooperate or to confound. End Comment. ********************************************* ********* For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it ********************************************* ********* JONES