In December 2018, the Kuwait Times reported that operator Shamal Al-Zour Al-Oula had completed two full years of running Al-Zour North One, a combined power and water plant. It was the first facility of its kind in Kuwait under independent ownership and, at peak, covered 27 percent of power needs with 1,539 MW and 35 percent of water output with 107 million gallons a day, about 486,000 m³/d. Full commercial operation began on 26 November 2016, after construction started in December 2013.
The report showed that Kuwait had by then placed a noticeable share of its power and water supply in a public-private partnership plant, described as the first stage of a wider capacity build-out.