The possibility of a post-Saddam regime in Iraq has sparked increasing interest in Kuwait’s real estate and oil sectors. The installation of a new Iraqi government following a US-led military strike on the country is expected to economically revive the Iraq-Kuwait border region and give rise to trade, tourism and oil markets.
Kuwaiti land developers are seeking to tap into the tourism boom that is forecasted to hit the border region once Saddaam Hussein is ousted from power, reported The Scotsman. Land buyers are planning to establish luxury villas, chalets and theme parks in Northern Kuwait and a six-lane highway linking the Emirate to Iraq is also being discussed.
The area was once a weekend vacation spot for Kuwaitis prior to the Iran-Iraq War, which effectively closed the border in 1980. Locals would cross over state lines and head for the city of Basra to enjoy Iraqi culture and liberal alcohol laws.
The price of land in northern Kuwait more than doubled this past January when US President George Bush made his “Axis of Evil” speech, increasing talks of a regime change in Iraq. In addition to tourism schemes, the Kuwait government is seeking parliamentary approval for allowing international oil firms to develop oil fields in Northern Kuwait.
Project Kuwait hopes to generating an additional 450,000 barrels of oil per day, requiring an investment of seven billion dollars over a 20-year period. The Kuwaiti constitution currently bans foreign ownership of the country's hydrocarbon resources.
Kuwait's desert border with Iraq has been closed since US-led troops defeated the Iraqi army in the 1991 Gulf War and ended Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's seven-month occupation. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
