Data-center law in Kuwait

National jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-06

Kuwait has no data-center-specific siting, permitting, or utility statute; a data-center project is governed by the general investment framework of Law No. 116 of 2013 on the Promotion of Direct Investment, administered by the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA).

The law does not name information technology or data infrastructure as a distinct priority sector in its own text, though KDIPA's own promotional material lists an "IT, Software Development & Technology" sector among the opportunities it markets to investors.

It grants a licensed investment entity of any kind income-tax exemption for up to ten years and customs-duty exemption on imported machinery, equipment, and technological devices, but no provision addresses electricity grid interconnection, water use, or air emissions specifically.

Instruments on record

1 instrument on record, grouped by the family of approval each one governs.

Public agreements

What fiscal agreements attach a data center to its host jurisdiction?

Law No. 116 of 2013 on the Promotion of Direct Investment in the State of Kuwait

In force

Law No. 116 of 2013 on the Promotion of Direct Investment in the State of Kuwait

Applies to private

Law No. 116 of 2013 establishes the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), a public authority with legal personality attached to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, to license and promote direct investment by any nationality of investor through a Kuwaiti company (up to 100% foreign-owned) or a licensed branch of a foreign company. Article 27 entitles a licensed investment entity to income-tax exemption for up to ten years from the actual commencement of operations.

The same article wholly or partially exempts imported machinery, tools, equipment, transport means, spare parts, and raw or partially manufactured materials from customs duties and other import fees, alongside land-use and foreign-labor accommodations the Board of Directors may set.

Article 38 ties the law's own entry into force to six months after its publication in the Official Gazette, but the source read for this entry gives only the promulgation date (16 June 2013), not that later publication date.

Source: Full text of law

Every entry cites the instrument it describes. None of it is legal advice: verify a citation before relying on it. Full sourcing: read the methodology. The rest of the record: all jurisdictions.