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'{{Infobox port | name =Mubarak Al Kabeer Port | native_name= '''ميناء مبارك الكبير''' | image = | image_size = 250px | image_caption = | country =[[Kuwait]] | location =[[Bubiyan Island]] | pushpin_map = yes | pushpin_map_geomask= yes | pushpin_map_zoom = 13 | coordinates = {{coord|29.865|48.318|display=inline,title}} | opened = August 2021 ('''Phase I''')<ref name=phase/> | operated = December 2024<ref name="full">{{cite web|title=جهاز الحرير وبوبيان يستكمل ميناء مبارك الكبير بعد... 2024|website=Al Rai|date=26 April 2021|url=https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1532402/محليات/جهاز-الحرير-وبوبيان-يستكمل-ميناء-مبارك-الكبير-بعد-2024|language=ar}}</ref> | owner = {{flag|China}}<ref name="beltroad2" /><ref name="bri" /><br>{{flag|Kuwait}}<ref name="beltroad2" /><ref name="bri" /> | type = | sizewater = | sizeland = | size = | berths = | wharfs = | piers = | employees = | leadershiptitle = | leader = | blankdetailstitle1 = | blankdetails1 = | blankdetailstitle2 = | blankdetails2 = | blankdetailstitle3 = | blankdetails3 = | arrivals = | cargotonnage = | containervolume = | cargovalue = | passengertraffic = | revenue = | profit = | blankstatstitle1 = | blankstats1 = | blankstatstitle2 = | blankstats2 = | blankstatstitle3 = | blankstats3 = }} '''Mubarak Al Kabeer Port''' is a port in [[Bubiyan Island]], [[Kuwait]]. The port is part of China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]].<ref name="beltroad2">{{cite web|title=China and Kuwait to Build New Port|website=Port Technology|date=21 February 2019|url=https://www.porttechnology.org/news/china_and_kuwait_to_build_new_port/}}</ref><ref name="bri" /> Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is currently under construction.<ref name="phase">{{cite web|title=الأشغال تنتظر مقاول ميناء مبارك لتسلم المرحلة الأولى ابتدائياً|website=Al Rai|date=30 March 2021|url=https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1528354/محليات/أخبار-محلية/الأشغال-تنتظر-مقاول-ميناء-مبارك-لتسلم-المرحلة-الأولى-ابتدائ|language=ar}}</ref><ref name="constructionweek">{{cite web|author=Ranju Warrier|title=Elsewedy Electric unit bags $53.2m contract for Kuwait's Boubyan substation|website=Construction Week|date=19 February 2021|url=https://www.constructionweekonline.com/projects-and-tenders/270759-elsewedy-electric-unit-bags-532m-contract-for-kuwaits-boubyan-substation}}</ref><ref name="kun">{{cite web|title=المجلس الوزراء الكويتي يعقد اجتماعه الاسبوعي - حكومة - 15/03/2021 - كونا|website=Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)|date=15 March 2021|url=https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2964229&language=ar|quote=ثم أحيط مجلس الوزراء علماً بتوصية اللجنة بشأن إفادة وزير الأشغال العامة عن الأعمال التنفيذية لتشغيل المرحلة الأولى من مشروع ميناء مبارك الكبير، والترتيبات القانونية والإدارية والتعاقدية لتنفيذه|language=ar}}</ref><ref name="full" /> In April 2021, the port's first phase was completed (4 [[Berth (moorings)|berths]]).<ref name="full" /> ==Purpose== {{Main|Madinat al-Hareer}} Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is part of China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]].<ref name="beltroad2" /><ref name="bri" /> Under China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]], the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is part of the first phase of the [[Madinat al-Hareer|Silk City]] project.<ref name="beltroad2" /><ref name="bri" /> The port is an essential part of Kuwait Vision 2035 as it will create many new job opportunities in Kuwait.<ref name="bri">{{cite web|title=Phase One of Kuwait's BRI-Backed US$130 Billion Silk City Opens|work=[[Hong Kong Trade Development Council]]|date=10 June 2019|url=https://beltandroad.hktdc.com/en/insights/phase-one-kuwaits-bri-backed-us130-billion-silk-city-opens}}</ref> Mubarak Al Kabeer Port will serve the economic interests of many countries including Kuwait, China, Iraq, and Iran. In addition, the port is one of the closest seaports to Central Asia. As of 2021, Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is currently under construction.<ref name=constructionweek/><ref name=phase/><ref name="kun" /><ref name="full" /> According to [[MEED]], the project's contract was awarded in November 2019.<ref name="date">{{cite web|title=Kuwait Quarterly Newsletter - Issue 4 January 2021|date=18 February 2021|page=5|url=https://www.rsm.global/kuwait/sites/default/files/media/news/Publications/kuwait_quarterly_newsletter_-_issue_4.pdf}}</ref> In September 2020, it was reported that the port is 53% complete.<ref name="completion">{{cite web|title=Kuwait SCPD provides updates on $10.4bn worth of projects|website=Middle East Construction News|date=20 September 2020|url=https://meconstructionnews.com/43441/kuwait-scpd-provides-updates-on-10-4bn-worth-of-projects|quote=On the other projects, the top Kuwaiti official said the work on Mubarak Al Kabeer Port project had reached 52.7% completion}}</ref> In March 2021, it was announced that Kuwait and Pakistan will develop linkages between [[Gwadar Port]] and Mubarak Al Kabeer Port.<ref name="pk">{{cite web|title=Pakistan, Kuwait agree to develop linkages b/w Gwadar & Mubarak Al Kabeer Port|website=radio.gov.pk|date=18 March 2021|url=https://radio.gov.pk/18-03-2021/pakistan-kuwait-agree-to-develop-linkages-bw-gwadar-mubarak-al-kabeer-port}}</ref><ref name="pka">{{cite web|title=Pakistan, Kuwait agree to strengthen links between Gwadar, Mubarak Al Kabeer ports|website=arabnews.pk|date=19 March 2021|url=https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1828076/pakistan}}</ref> In April 2021, the port's first phase was completed (4 [[Berth (moorings)|berths]]).<ref name="full" /> As part of Mubarak Al Kabeer Port's development, Bubiyan Island will contain power plants and substations.<ref name="boubyan">{{cite web|title=Connecting Boubyan Island Area in Kuwait|publisher=[[Elsewedy Electric]]|date=March 2021|url=https://www.elsewedyelectric.com/en/news-room/connecting-boubyan-island-area-in-kuwait/}}</ref><ref name="constructionweek" /><ref name="mew">{{cite web|title=Kuwait's MEW to float tender for transmission stations|website=[[Zawya]]|date=23 March 2021|url=https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/business/story/Kuwaits_MEW_to_float_tender_for_transmission_stations-SNG_205175381/}}</ref><ref name="elsew">{{cite web|title=Elsewedy unit inks project in Kuwait|website=[[Zawya]]|date=17 February 2021|url=https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/business/story/Elsewedy_unit_inks_project_in_Kuwait-SNG_200852215/}}</ref> A 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in [[Subiya, Kuwait|Subiya]].<ref name="suba">{{cite web|title=Kuwait inaugurates massive causeway to free trade zone|website=[[France24]]|date=1 May 2019|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190501-kuwait-inaugurates-massive-causeway-free-trade-zone}}</ref> There is a current road project connecting Mubarak Al Kabeer Port's first phase to the existing road network in Bubiyan Island.<ref name="road">{{cite web|title=الأشغال تُسلّم «شركة كوبري» موقع عمل طريق ميناء مبارك - بوبيان مطلع ديسمبر|website=Al Rai|date=22 November 2020|url=https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1509234/محليات/أخبار-محلية/الأشغال-تسلم-شركة-كوبري-موقع-عمل-طريق-ميناء-مبارك---بوبيان-مطلع-ديسمبر|language=ar}}</ref><ref name="full" /> Mubarak Al Kabeer Port is among Kuwait's largest infrastructure projects in 2021.<ref name="april">{{cite web|title= الوطني: 40 % منها ترتبط بالبناء والتشييد|website=[[Al-Anba]]|date=25 April 2021|url=https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/economy-news/1038824/25-04-2021--مليارات-دينار-المشاريع-المخطط-تنفيذها-/|language=ar}}</ref><ref name="anba">{{cite web|title=الأشغال: طرح 92 عقداً خلال العام المالي 2021 / 2022 |website=[[Al-Anba]]|date=2 May 2021|url=https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-news/municipal-council/1040561/02-05-2021-الأشغال-طرح-عقدا-خلال-العام-المالي-/|language=ar}}</ref> Mubarak Al Kabeer Port's [[fire station]]s are currently under development.<ref name="Fire_station">{{cite web|title=أكاديمية الكويت لعلوم الإطفاء... الصرح الثالث على مستوى العالم|website=Al Rai|date=18 April 2021|url=https://www.alraimedia.com/article/1531173/محليات/لقاءات-وتحقيقات/أكاديمية-الكويت-لعلوم-الإطفاء-الصرح-الثالث-على-مستوى-العالم|language=ar|quote=بالإضافة إلى مركزي إطفاء بري وبحري في جزيرة بوبيان في ميناء مبارك، بالتعاون مع وزارة الأشغال}}</ref> ==Foreign relations== Initially, the port temporarily caused tensions with [[Iraq]] due to its proximity to Al Faw Grand Port. In September 2011, Iraq's foreign minister announced that the dispute over Mubarak Al Kabeer Port has been resolved.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iraq says port dispute with Kuwait resolved|url=https://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-13807-iraq-says-port-dispute-with-kuwait-resolved?amp}}</ref> On September 2019, the relations between the two countries turned negative as Iraq submitted a letter of complaint to both the UN Secretary General and UN Security Council accusing Kuwait of geographical changes to its maritime border at the Khor Abdullah waterway. The accusation levelled against Kuwait concerns the strengthening of the shallow area of Fasht al-Aij and the construction of a new port, which the Iraqi Government claims will constrain access to its own Umm Qasr Port upriver. Last week’s message to the UN is the culmination of an eight-year-long dispute between the two countries following the Kuwaiti Government’s inauguration of the new Mubarak al-Kabir Port in March 2011, just 12 miles downstream from Iraq’s planned Grand Faw Port. In response to the construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir Port, Iraq has previously accused Kuwait of going against its obligations under UN Resolution 833, which obliges both countries to permit unimpeded access to maritime traffic. The resolution, which was drawn up in the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1993, was further ratified in 2013 following a bilateral agreement drawn up by former Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] and his Kuwaiti counterparts, which further regulated maritime traffic in the Khor Abdullah waterway whilst respecting the current border between the two countries. It should be noted here that the stipulations of UN Resolution 833 can be changed if both Iraq and Kuwait agree to the proposed changes. The construction of the Mubarak al-Kabir Port, Kuwait’s fifth seaport, could be viewed as Kuwait’s attempt to assert its sovereignty over Bubiyan Island and ensure its continued monopoly over sea trade in the northern Persian Gulf, as Iraq has long disputed control over the islands of Bubiyan and Warbah, which lie near the Khor Abdullah waterway. Iraq’s message to the UNSC faced severe criticism from Kuwaiti side as both MP's and politicans noted that Fasht al-Aij lies within Kuwaiti territorial waters.<ref>{{Cite web|last=UK|first=Integrity|title=Ku-wait Right There! Iraq Accuses Kuwait of Infringing Shared Maritime Borders – Integrity UK|url=https://www.integrityuk.org/ku-wait-right-there-iraq-accuses-kuwait-of-infringing-shared-maritime-borders/|access-date=2021-05-10|language=en-US}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Madinat al-Hareer]] * [[Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway]] * [[Kuwait National Cultural District]] * [[Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City]] ==References== {{Reflist}} [[Category:One Belt, One Road]] [[Category:Ports and harbours of Kuwait]] [[Category:Foreign relations of Kuwait]] [[Category:Foreign relations of China]] [[Category:Chinese investment abroad]]'