Kuwait Amends the Public Tenders Law

Law No. 94 of 2026 was published in Official Gazette Issue No. 1810 of 27 September 2026, amending Law No. 49 of 2016 on Public Tenders (the “Tenders Law”). The amendment takes effect three months after publication.

Key changes are set out below.

What is new?

• Direct-contracting threshold raised more than tenfold: public entities may now contract directly, without approval from the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT), for needs up to KD 1,000,000 per financial year for the same items/works – up from the previous KD 75,000 threshold under Article 19 of the Tenders Law. Council of Ministers may adjust the threshold on CAPT’s recommendation.
• KPC procurement threshold raised to KD 20 million: CAPT will now only oversee Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its wholly owned subsidiaries’ domestic purchase contracts exceeding KD 20 million; smaller contracts are handled by dedicated KPC purchase committees, subject to reporting to CAPT, the State Audit Bureau and the Ministry of Finance. The Supreme Petroleum Council may also authorise emergency purchases outside normal procedures.
• Local agents and commission agents banned: use of a local agent or commission-based agent in any public contracting procedure is now prohibited (amended Article 31).
• Local content thresholds tightened: foreign and local contractors must purchase at least 30% of products from the Industrial Guide issued by the Public Authority for Industry, and must subcontract at least 30% of awarded works to locally registered/classified contractors (10% of that share reserved for SMEs).
• SME award preference introduced: tenders must be awarded to SME bidders whose compliant bids are within 10% of the lowest accepted bid (new Article 62 bis); this cannot be combined with the separate product-priority rule (Article 62) in the same tender. Contractor classification will also be re-evaluated periodically, with simplified entry for SMEs into Category 4.
• Transitional rules: the amendments do not apply to procurements already announced before entry into force, except the new SME/product-priority; the current CAPT Board continues until its term ends.

How we can help

Our corporate team advises regularly on Kuwaiti public tenders, from bid preparation through contract award and implementation. To discuss how these amendments may affect your business, contact Aaron Dikos or Lulwa Alhammad.