(With photos) KUWAIT, June 18 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Ministry of Public Works said its agenda for development projects this year prioritises the Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, the expansion of Kuwait International Airport, Mubarak Al-Khabeer Harbor, the new headquarters of the Ministry of Education, and the Jamal Abdulnasser and Al-Jahra highways.

Director of the Ministry's Public Relations Division Hamid Youssuf Bushehri said: "The ministry contributed to the urban development in all sectors nationwide over the last decades." "It carried out major construction projects for the state departments including the ministries of health, interior, education, social affairs and labor, Awqaf and Islamic affairs, and sports and youth," Bushehri pointed out on Saturday.

"In addition, the ministry acted under its original mandate to build and maintain roads, and extend the infrastructure services through expansion of water and sewage networks as well as the treatment of underwater and conservation of rain waters to use them in agricultural and horticultural purposes," he went on to say.

The first half of 2011 has seen the laying of the foundation stone of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Harbor under auspices and in the presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Saba.

The ministry has also started executing the projects of the national library, Kuwait sport club for the deaf, the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait (CRSK), the new headquarters of the Ministry of Interior, the building of the interior ministry's assistant undersecretaries, the building of the legislation and legal advice department, Al-Oqeila medical center, and Abu-Fatira road development project (the second phase).

Over the last few months the ministry inked 23 contracts and agreements to develop key projects such as the Public Authority for the Minors Affairs (PAMA), Bushehri revealed.

Among the most important projects under construction at present are the Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, the information center, the building of National Assembly members (MPs), and the premises of PAMA, the Ministry of Education, the Kuwait Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies (KIJLS) and the Environment Public Authority (EPA).

They also include the seizures' warehouse of the Public Prosecution in Al-Saliabiya area, and the premises of the Directorate General for Immigration Affairs, the directorate general of the special forces, the premise of the Police Academy, the Manpower Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) and the woman affairs committee, as well as the expatriate workers city in Sabhan area, he noted.

Bushehri added that the his ministry is also building several hospitals countrywide and rehabilitating the Grand Mosque, the ministries complex and the state security directorate in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate.

The ministry's road engineering sector is implementing several projects such as the First Ring Road - the first stage Al-Sabbiya Motorway - the third stage, Al-Fahaheel Motorway and the link between King Fahad and Al-Fahaheel motorways, as well as rainwater conservation projects.

The ministry's health engineering sector has implemented the 12th phase of the sewage network renovation project in Al-Reqqa and Hadiya areas, and the 10th phase of the project in Bayan and Al-Jabriya areas, as well as the rehabilitation of the Mishref pumping station and the maintenance of the water purification stations in Al-Reqqa and Al-Jahra areas, Bushehri added.

The ministry is executing the four-stage Mubarak Al-Kabeer Harbor.

The first part of the first stage includes the designing and implementation of the main road and the building of a railroad and two bridges to link Boubyan Island to the mainland.

The second part of the first stage includes building four docks and deepening the waterway of the harbor.

The second stage will start in 2016 soon after the completion of the first one and aims to add 12 marinas to the harbor, the third one will add 18 and the fourth 36, thus pushing the total number of marinas to 60, he said.