since its establishment, al-rawdatain water bottling company has operated quietly, at times in a rather opaque manner. little is known about its ownership, operational structure, or management. there is no record of members of parliament in previous assemblies raising questions about it, and its financial results related to profits and losses have not been publicly detailed.
research indicates that the company was established at the request of the late amir, jaber al-ahmad, after economic studies confirmed the viability of the project. it was founded in november 1980. its capital was contributed by the industrial bank of kuwait, the ministry of finance, the public institution for social security (pifss), the kuwait trading, contracting and foreign investments company, the kuwait investment company, and the kuwait hotels company.
production began in 1983 with a capacity of 170,000 liters of natural groundwater. ten years later, likely due to limited management capacity and low returns, pifss acquired the shares of the remaining shareholders, except for the industrial bank of kuwait’s 30 percent stake.
the rawdatain field is located 100 kilometers north of kuwait, covering an area of 50 square kilometers. it is the largest freshwater reservoir in kuwait and is known for its unique mineral properties. its age is estimated to be between 4 and 5 million years.
suddenly, after more than 40 years since its establishment, the company has become a competitor to other bottled water companies, both local and international, thanks to the quality and variety of its products. the company has established a strong presence and now sells its products online, thanks to its current dynamic management team, none of whose members i know personally. i hope the management will be more committed to promoting its products to all government agencies and encouraging the use of this national product.
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for half a century, we have suffered from the problem of power outages, especially in the summer, when air conditioning becomes a matter of life and death. i, along with thousands of others, have been forced to pay exorbitant sums to purchase generators for our businesses, warehouses, factories, and homes. despite this, hundreds of tons of food, especially perishable goods, have spoiled. we have all suffered from electricity outages linked to mismanagement involving some former officials. over 400 million dinars were spent during a single summer on purchasing generators, most of which later turned out to be scrap metal.
like other technical and sensitive ministries, the ministry of electricity requires a conscientious and competent leader, one who is strong, honest, and capable of making decisions. many of these qualities were present in previous electricity ministers. however, the current minister, subaih al-mukhaizeem, has these capabilities, in addition to the support of the political leadership. as a result, al-mukhaizeem succeeded where his predecessors struggled.
we have not heard any statements about power outages, nor calls for conservation, nor reliance on government-run generators to supplement electricity in specific areas. the system is now operating at a reasonable pace, even though this month and the next are expected to be the most demanding in terms of electricity consumption due to many people refraining from traveling.
i would like to express thanks to the minister of electricity, water and renewable energy, al-mukhaizeem, for his efforts.