The Kuwaiti Finance Ministry has approved the construction of a series of projects worth $9.9 b including power plants and desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects, reported the Kuwait Times.

Kuwait is planning to add around 3,580 megawatts of capacity to feed rising electricity demands. No timescale has so far been set for all the projects but the ministry did announce that 50% of the finances will be raised through stock market offerings.

Oil Minister Ali Saleh Al-Omair had also said previously that Kuwait plans to generate 15% of its energy needs via renewable sources by 2030, with the first of up to 100 solar-powered fuelling stations operating by 2017.

In other news, thanks to declining oil prices Kuwait’s foreign trade surplus fell 68% to 1.74 billion Kuwaiti dinars in the first quarter, according to The National. Crude oil accounts for nearly 90% of all Kuwaiti exports.