UAE’s Al Futtaim launches Kuwait Festival City

Dubai: UAE-based Al Futtaim Investment Group has announced the launch of a new venture in the Kuwait under the name Kuwait Festival City, marking its official entry into the Kuwaiti market.

The move follows the recent approval of Kuwait’s Real Estate Developer Law and ongoing efforts to allow banks to offer mortgage financing, paving the way for foreign investment and accelerating residential development.

With over 100,000 families currently on housing waitlists, the government is seeking to fast-track solutions through public-private collaboration, an opening that has drawn the interest of major regional developers.

Al Futtaim’s new entity was established through the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) and is licensed to operate across a wide scope of activities, including residential and non-residential construction, as well as project management.

According to the company’s founding documents, the venture will be headquartered in Kuwait and operate with an initial contract duration of 99 years, with provisions for automatic renewal.

Al Futtaim, known for its integrated city projects, brings significant experience in building contemporary urban environments that combine housing, commercial spaces, and lifestyle amenities.

The company has already delivered five master-planned communities across 11.8 million square meters, comprising over 29,000 residential units that house more than 114,000 residents.

The group is also behind some of the region’s most prominent mixed-use developments and shopping destinations, including Dubai Festival City and iconic leisure attractions like Ski Dubai, Magic Planet, and VOX Cinemas.

Kuwait’s real estate market is undergoing a period of transformation as the government attempts to reconcile traditional public housing programs with a new model that empowers private developers.

The Ministry of Housing has already designated three mega residential projects, Sabriya, Nawaf Al Ahmad, and Khairan, which collectively aim to deliver approximately 170,000 housing units.

Under the new framework, real estate developers will be responsible for delivering units exclusively to eligible citizens, with home prices calibrated according to mortgage-based financing to ensure long-term affordability.

Investment horizons are expected to stretch beyond 30 years, with flexible housing types ranging from compact villas to large plots exceeding 1,000 square meters.

Kuwait’s push to attract foreign direct investment is gaining momentum. KDIPA reported that foreign investment inflows reached KD 206.9 million in the last fiscal year, bringing the cumulative total to KD 1.74 billion. That growth includes the establishment of 16 new foreign companies from 12 countries in the past year alone.

As of the latest data, 95 global investment entities are operating in Kuwait across key sectors, including IT, insurance, healthcare, and, significantly for the first time, agriculture.

European firms accounted for nearly 60 per cent of total foreign investment, followed by companies from Asia (28.5 per cent), North America (9.5 per cent), and Africa (1.9 per cent).