Mohammad A S Al-Qattan

Steel recycling in GCC construction: Evaluating Kuwait’s feasibility as a regional hub

This dissertation assessed whether Kuwait could position itself as a regional hub for recycled-construction-steel, circularity, economics, and governance implications in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Motivated by Kuwait’s construction boom, persistent export of high-quality steel-scrap, and a national vision that prioritises sustainable development and non-oil productivity, the study adopted a mixed-method: a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) quantified steel stocks and flows; Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) and Opportunity Cost Analysis (OCA) evaluated environmental and economic feasibility of domestic retention versus export, respectively; and semi-structured interviews (SSI) with public–private stakeholders surfaced industry dynamics. The MFA (2022) estimated a net input to use of ~1,811kt and scrap generation of ~490kt, with ~200kt recycled domestically and ~240kt exported, indicating that export - not landfill - was the dominant leakage despite EAF capacity (~1.2 Mt/yr). Domestic-hub pathway that retains end-of-life scrap raised MCI from ~34-58% and lifted circular mass from ~166 kt to ~282kt; a regional-hub option, processing additional GCC scrap, did not affect MCI but scaled circular mass to ~512kt. OCA estimated net national benefit of ~$244million/yr and a 10-year NPV of $~1.16–1.62 billion, driven by domestic value added, foreign-exchange retention, and carbon savings of ~435ktCO₂/yr (sensitivity-tested). Interviews converged on price–trust frictions, fragmented monitoring/reporting, conservative design–procurement, and unclear ownership constraints; suggesting market/governance-first levers. Kuwait is not yet a hub but is conditionally feasible under a phased pathway: digitised monitoring/enforcement; market creation via state-regulated auction with quality assurance and guaranteed settlement; followed by regional standards and scrap-pre-processing upgrades. Contributions include an integrated framework with Causal Loop Diagram output. Limitations concern national data gaps, unmodelled demolition flows and reuse, MCI’s omits energy/logistics effects, and OCA assumptions. Future work should quantify demolition flows, pilot structural-steel reuse, publish annual retention dashboards, run LCAs comparing domestic retention vs export, and replicate the method across GCC peers.