MUMBAI: Essar Projects, in a joint venture with Italy's Saipem S.p.A, has won a $1.57 billion order from Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) for setting up Al-Zour Refinery Project, Package-4, in the State of Kuwait, the Essar Group's engineering, procurement and construction company said.

The project is expected to be completed by 2019.

"The project marks Essar's entry into the Kuwait project market with the biggest EPC contract by an external client. It also signals a quantum growth in our overseas business, showcasing our capability to collaborate with leading international EPC companies and our competitiveness in the face of tough global competition," said Shiba Panda, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Essar Projects.

The order is a part of the new refinery project at Al Zour in Kuwait, which will have a crude processing capacity of 615,000 barrels per day. KNPC has awarded four contracts for the refinery's construction, worth over $13.2 billion to successful international bidders.

Essar Projects has begun to mobilise resources for the project. With this order, Essar Project's order book is worth $2.8 billion, with projects being executed in nine countries