'80,000 apartments to be built within next 6 years'

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 3: Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs, State Minister for Housing and Development Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd announced that the Cabinet during its Monday session agreed to auction 2,500 plots. He added that 1,200 plots are in Khairan City while the rest are spread in other areas of the country.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) and held Tuesday morning at Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City, Al-Fahd said PAHW, in cooperation with the private sector, will establish nearly 80,000 apartments within the next six years. He disclosed that PAHW will start distributing more than 6,000 plots in Sabah Al-Ahmad and Jaber Al-Ahmad cities starting from October this year.

Moreover, Sheikh Fahd said the housing authority will hand over 1,500 residential plots in Sabah Al-Ahmad City project to citizens on the National Day. He added that PAHW has already signed contracts of all residential buildings and will soon sign contracts for public buildings.

Talking about Al-Khairan City, Al-Fahd said it constitutes an area which is more than one-third of Kuwait City. Furthermore, he called on PAHW leaders and private companies to live up to their expectations and implement the housing plan on time. Referring to a lawmaker's threat of filing a grilling if 25 percent of development plan was not carried out, Al-Fahd said the government already carried out 25 percent of the plan perfectly well.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Director of Investment Affairs and Private Sector Projects Issa Khadadah said PAHW is getting the main roads of Sabah Al-Ahmad City built and the work will be completed by April 2011.

On Al-Khairan City project, he said law No. 50/2010 has been issued and it includes an article through which companies will be established to construct residential cities as per the BOT system. The Al-Khairan City project will be built as per this law, he added.

He further mentioned that Al-Mutlaa City includes 25,000 plots and houses and added that a tender will be floated following which a joint stock company will be established to build the city according to BOT system. Khadadah said PAHW will establish within one year a joint stock holding company which in turn will be in-charge of establishing low-cost apartments in Jahra and Sulaibiya and they too will be built as per the BOT system.

Fund
The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee at the Parliament will finalize its report on the establishment of a fund to subsidize development projects before Ramadan, since a proposal has been presented for the National Assembly to hold an emergency session during Ramadan to approve the fund, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting panel member MP Rola Dashti.

Affirming the fund is one of the panel's priorities, Dashti attributed the delayed completion of the report to the government's late submission of its opinion in this regard. She confirmed the panel members have reached an agreement on the main principles of the development process. She also confirmed her support to the proposed holding of an emergency session during Ramadan to discuss the issue after the committee finalizes its report.

Commenting on the allegation of MP Musallam Al-Barrak that the government subsidized the establishment of Kuwait Economic Society (KES) because she is the chairperson, Dashti pointed out the society is not the only beneficiary of this subsidy, since the Kuwait Accountants Association, Kuwait Journalists Association and Kuwait Human Rights Society also received the same. She clarified the government has granted financial support to these organizations because they were established in the 1970s. She said a decision has been issued for the demolition of the headquarters of these associations; hence, the need to construct new buildings for them.

Dashti confirmed the government has allocated land areas in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh for the construction of the headquarters. She clarified that initially they had no intention to request for subsidy but the recent economic crisis impeded the flow of donations from the private sector. She affirmed the Kuwait Accountants Association submitted their request for subsidy ahead of KES.

Furthermore, Dashti hailed the role played by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, as well as the cooperative societies and public utilities, in easing the financial burden of Kuwaiti families. She also asked these authorities to grant financial aid to the families of martyrs and prisoners of war (POWs), especially since Ramadan is fast approaching.

By Abdullah Dibbi

© Arab Times 2010