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By DIANA ELIAS
Associated Press Writer
Fate of Kuwait refinery project hangs in balance317 days ago
(AP:KUWAIT CITY) The fate of Kuwait's controversial $14 billion project to build a new refinery will be determined after parliamentary elections, the oil minister said late Saturday.
The official Kuwait News Agency quoted Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah as saying the plan to build the refinery was "currently frozen" by a Cabinet decision.
The new government, which will be formed after the vote, would make the final decision on it, he added without elaboration. No date has been set for the elections, but they are expected in less than two months.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Sheik Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah announced the government was halting the construction of the 615,000 barrels a day facility following an investigation by the country's financial watchdog, the Audit Bureau.
Lawmakers had accused state officials of profiteering from the project because contracts to build it were awarded without going through the Central Bidding Committee. The government denied the accusations.
Kuwait's emir dissolved the parliament March 18, citing abuse of democracy by lawmakers and their stalling attempts to develop the small Gulf state that sits on top of 10 percent of the world's oil reserves.
The spokesman of the state's Kuwait National Petroleum Co. which owns and runs the country's three refineries, said Sunday that the Cabinet's decision led to the cancellation of the tender to build the project, and it was up to the government to revive it.
Mohammed al-Ajmi said KNPC informed the companies that had won the tenders of the cancellation last week. "There were no contracts," he said.
The project included participation by Japan's JGC and South Korea's GS Engineering and Construction Corp. The cancellation came just months after Kuwait backed out _ also under parliamentary pressure _ of a $17.4 billion joint venture with U.S. giant Dow Chemical Co. days before the petrochemical project was set to be launched.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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