Zain and Ooredoo Pool 4,000 Towers in Kuwait and Qatar

Zain and Ooredoo have completed the first closing of a jointly owned regional tower platform, combining roughly 4,000 telecom towers in Kuwait and Qatar under a single structure split 50/50 between the two operators.

The platform merges Zain Kuwait's tower portfolio, which is operated by ITK, with Ooredoo Qatar's Al Abraj tower assets. Both companies confirmed the completion of the first phase of the deal, which follows regulatory approvals in both markets.

The stated rationale is cost and scale. The partners say the shared platform will lower infrastructure costs, improve operational efficiency and support the expansion of digital connectivity across the region. It will also let operators share tower infrastructure, reducing the need for separate investments in new facilities while helping to lower their environmental footprint.

What does the deal change for the two operators?

For now, the answer is ownership of passive assets, not networks. Zain and Ooredoo will continue to own and manage their active telecom network equipment, software and related technology despite transferring their tower assets into the joint platform. The companies keep full control of the radios, core gear and software that determine network performance, while the towers themselves — steel, power and sites — move into a shared vehicle.

That structure follows the established carve-out model used by operators worldwide, in which passive infrastructure is pooled into a separate entity while active network operations remain with each carrier.

The executives involved framed the platform as the start of something larger rather than a finished transaction.

Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO Bader Al-Kharafi said: "This first closing of the tower platform marks a defining step in the evolution of digital infrastructure for both Zain and Ooredoo. It reflects our shared strategy of creating focused, scalable and sustainable platforms that unlock greater value from our assets while supporting the reduction of the region's carbon footprint."

He added: "We believe this tower platform will play an increasingly important role in strengthening our respective digital foundations and enabling the next wave of connectivity, innovation and economic growth for the communities we proudly serve. We thank the regulatory authorities in Kuwait for their visionary support in the approval process."

Where does the platform go next?

Ooredoo Group CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo pointed to expansion through further market contributions, signalling that the 4,000 towers represent the first tranche rather than the final size of the platform.

"Completing this first closing marks an important milestone in building a regional tower platform designed to create significant value, with a clear path to expansion through additional market contributions," Fakhroo said.

"With this milestone, we are now executing across every digital infrastructure segment identified in our strategy as we continue building a leading regional portfolio," he said.

Fakhroo also credited the State of Qatar's Communications Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Municipality for their support and for contributing to a conducive regulatory environment throughout the approval process.

The reference to approvals in both Kuwait and Qatar underlines the regulatory dimension of cross-border tower consolidation in the Gulf, where passive infrastructure sharing typically requires clearance from national communications regulators before assets can change hands.

For the wider region, the transaction adds a second large-scale shared tower vehicle to the Middle East market at a time when operators are under pressure to cut capital expenditure and meet sustainability targets. Whether the platform grows beyond its initial 4,000 sites will depend on further market contributions from the two groups and on regulatory clearance in the additional markets that follow.