Dubai: India's trade with Kuwait, the country's leading supplier of crude oil and LPG, crossed USD 18 billion during last year as the resource-rich Gulf nation stepped up its investments in India's energy, power and health sectors. "The current year is witnessing award of several big contracts in Kuwait to Indian companies. Shapoorji Pallonji, Mumbai has signed a contract in April 2014 with the Ministry of Public Works for the Al-Sabah Hospital Project worth USD 640 million and its execution would start soon, an Indian embassy statement said.
Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) has confirmed that one of the Gas Gathering Centres EPC project worth USD 840 million is being awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Mumbai while another Gas Gathering Centre worth USD 810 million would be awarded to Dodsal, it said.
L&T, Mumbai is also L1 for a feed pipeline project worth USD 1 billion of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). Punj Lloyd, New Delhi?has bagged USD 236 million KNPC's project of revamping the Ahamadi Fuel Depot which includes design and commissioning of 11 new floating roof product tanks, embassy said.
Noting that while Simplex Project Ltd, Kolkata has secured a subcontract worth USD 84 million of Kuwaiti Companies to construct some service centres in Sabah Al-Ahmad City, the statement added that The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), New Delhi was already doing a pilot project worth USD 39 million in the field of soil remediation with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).
It said regarding foreign direct investment (FDI) from Kuwait to India, Kuwait investment Authority (KIA), which manages the sovereign wealth funds, had already made an investment of about USD 2.7 billion in India. "KIA has further invested USD 5.37 million in the Power Grid Corporation of India in December 2013. Some Indian private companies such as GMR and Kotak Mahindra are in touch with KIA for attracting investments into India," it said.
