Kuwait plans to spend its bumper petro-dollar earnings on an array of mega projects over the next five years including a new business hub dubbed Silk City, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The OPEC member has earmarked 35 billion dinars (131.5 billion dollars) for Silk City, as well as a harbour, railway and metro system in a bid to diversify its oil-dependent economy and become a regional trade and financial centre.
The ambitious five-year scheme, Kuwait's first development project in more than two decades, aims to "boost gross domestic product, diversify sources of income and help the private sector take the lead in the domestic economy," said Al-Rai newspaper which unveiled the plan.
It will finance part of the 77-billion-dollar Silk City which aims to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route by becoming a major free trade zone linking central Asia with Europe.