China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has confirmed it has signed a contract to build Kuwait’s largest wastewater treatment plant.

The North Kabd wastewater treatment plant and related works contract was signed on 26 July between senior officials from CSCEC and Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW). The plant has a planned capacity of up to 1 million cubic metres a day (cm/d).

In January, MEED reported that the Chinese firm had been appointed as the main contractor for the project pending the contract’s official signing.

According to official government records at the time, the Central Agency for Public Tenders (Capt) had authorised MPW to proceed with a direct contract valued at KD999.85m ($3.3bn). The contract covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the facility over a 10-year period.

Earlier, in September 2025, MEED reported that a Chinese firm was expected to sign the contract as part of a series of Kuwait-China agreements covering infrastructure and energy.

This included a $4bn agreement signed in December with China Communications Construction Company for the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port project. The MPW invited bids for the expansion of the Kabd facility in 2022.

Plans for the North Kabd sewage treatment plant (STP) were first announced in 2013, according to regional project tracker MEED Projects.

The initial plan included two STP units with a total combined capacity of close to 500,000 cm/d, in addition to an upgrade to an existing plant.

Kuwait has been investing significantly in wastewater infrastructure to address challenges in reusing treated sewage.

In February, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa and local financial institution Gulf Investment Corporation signed a contract with Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity & Water, confirming the long-term offtake arrangements for the Al-Zour North independent water and power plant (IWPP) phases two and three.

The integrated facility will have a net power generation capacity of at least 2,700MW and a net desalinated water capacity of at least 545,520 cm/d, making it the largest IWPP ever undertaken in the country.

The Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects and the Ministry of Electricity & Water are also tendering phase one of the Al-Khiran IWPP.

The estimated $200m project includes an 1,800MW power plant and a desalination facility with a capacity of 568,000 cm/d. Bids were submitted for the project in June.