Kuwait to float Az-Zour North One

Kuwait plans to sell shares in Az-Zour North Independent Water & Power Project to the public in mid-2017, state news agency Kuna reported on Saturday.

The Az-Zour North One plant has a capacity of at least 1,500 MW and is structured as a public-private partnership (PPP).

The project is 40 percent owned by three partners: France's Engie, Japan's Sumitomo Corporation (SSUMF) and Kuwaiti firm AH Al Sagar & Brothers.

Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Public Institution for Social Security, and the PPP body Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP), together hold 60 percent.

A public share sale was a condition for the project, once construction was finished. It was completed on November 26, according to Sumitomo's website.

Kuwait's government will offer 50 percent of Az-Zour to Kuwaiti citizens, the agency quoted general manager Mutlaq Al-Sanei at KAPP as saying.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Adrian Croft)