Finance Ministry offers 44 commercial shops for exploitation in Al-Mubarakiya

The Ministry of Finance has announced its intention to revive the heritage shops located within the state’s private real estate holdings in the Qibla area of Al-Mubarakiya Market. This initiative will involve rehabilitating 44 commercial units in Commercial Plot 7, with their use reserved exclusively for individuals with a historical heritage tied to Al-Mubarakiya Market.

In an announcement published in the official newspaper “Kuwait Al-Yaum,” the Ministry specified that the targeted activities include handicrafts and artisanal industries, traditional restaurants and cafes, spice shops, sales of nuts and traditional food products, manufacturing and sale of leather goods and tailoring, prayer beads, and fishing supply stores.

The Ministry outlined several conditions that applicants must meet for rehabilitation, the most prominent of which is that the applicant must be a Kuwaiti national, and this condition must remain valid from the start of contracting procedures throughout the duration of the lease agreement. Applicants must also possess full legal capacity and be at least 21 years old.

Additionally, applicants must not have been previously convicted by a final judgment for a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or breach of trust, unless their reputation has been restored. There must also be no ongoing legal dispute between the applicant and the Ministry of Finance arising from a previous contract related to the exploitation of state assets, or from a breach of contractual or financial obligations toward the Ministry, unless the matter has been resolved by a final judgment or an approved settlement.

The Ministry emphasized that applicants must have a genuine and documented historical connection to Al-Mubarakiya Market and its professional, artisanal, or commercial heritage, supported by relevant documentation.

It clarified that proof of historical connection would be assessed based on circumstances, such as the antiquity of the applicant’s or their family’s ties to the market across generations; the applicant’s or their ancestors’ or family’s practice of a craft, industry, or activity historically linked to the market; prior ownership, occupation, or exploitation of a shop or property within the market, even if such ownership or relationship ceased later; continued engagement in activities forming part of the market’s historical identity; or other facts and documents demonstrating a genuine connection to the market.