19 March 2009
KUWAIT: The project of KU City in Shadadiya, located some 20 kilometers westwards from Kuwait City, is expected to be completed by 2014 at a whooping KD 1.5 billion. According to Dr. Mohammad Al-Fares, Director of the Construction Project, the infrastructure that sprawls over an area of 4.9 square kilometer will be completed by the end of this year. Speaking to the Kuwait Times, Al-Fares said that the cost of the project has increased from KD 900,000 to KD 1.5 billion earlier this year.
According to other officials from the KU, regardless of the economic standstill, the KU City project is chartered to continue despite the crisis. "The project is still ongoing. The central utility plant building is expected to be completed by the end of next month and we will have the construction program team stationed there, together with the maintenance, services and security departments. By having the construction team there, we will be able to follow up with the progress of the scheduled construction from up close," said Al-Fares.
He explained that roughly 95 per cent of the project's design plan is completed.
The infrastructure of the project will be built by local construction companies, but for the individual designs of each building, we will be working alongside international designers and architects, he explained.
Speaking to Kuwait Times about the specifics of the project, Yahia Dashti, the project's Public Relations Officer, explained that the new campus, which will have the ability to house up to 40,000 students will have three major campuses. The first two campuses will be segregated: the men's campus, and the women's campus, both of which will have nine academic faculties that will teach arts, literature, education, Sharia, sciences, social studies, engineering, business, and law. Dashti said that each campus will have its own identity. "The designs of the buildings will be different for each faculty. Each one will have its unique identity, which will differentiate it from its surrounding campuses," he said.
In addition to those, there will be a third co-ed medical campus that houses the university hospital, the faculty of public health, the faculty of pharmacy, the faculty of allied health, and the faculty of dentistry. That is in addition to three faculty buildings, one in each campus, to be used in the future. Speaking about the medical campus Dashti explained, "The campus will have a teaching hospital with 600 beds and a housing complex for hospital staff nearby," he said. Moreover, there will be a hotel, dormitories for males and females, as well as accommodation for the faculties' staff.
The two main segregated campuses will be separated by a water channel, and an artificial oasis of plants, palm trees and shrubbery. The plan of the City finds necessary the presence of nature in campus to give it a homey feeling for students, since they spend most of their days in the university during the years of their studies. He added, "Each campus will have green grass fields and a number of small ponds. It is vital to have these elements to create a perfect atmosphere that would be ideal to foster creative thoughts and ideas for both students and professors alike, " said Dashti. The area surrounding the KU City will be planted with trees and greenery so as to alleviate the heat and help preventing the effects of sandstorms.
The Kuwait University City's location will be 20 kilometers towards the west of Kuwait City, and can be accessed from the 6th and 7th Ring Roads. "The university management has learned from the disadvantages of the old campus; the new design will provide plenty of car parking spaces, a number air-conditioned, large gallerias between lecture halls to provide students with space to set up activities. There will be sports facilities, playgrounds, gymnasiums, museums and cultural centers to provide the students with as much activities as possible," said Dashti.
The KU City project was launched in 2004 after the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah issued a decree to build the new KU City.
KUWAIT: The project of KU City in Shadadiya, located some 20 kilometers westwards from Kuwait City, is expected to be completed by 2014 at a whooping KD 1.5 billion. According to Dr. Mohammad Al-Fares, Director of the Construction Project, the infrastructure that sprawls over an area of 4.9 square kilometer will be completed by the end of this year. Speaking to the Kuwait Times, Al-Fares said that the cost of the project has increased from KD 900,000 to KD 1.5 billion earlier this year.
According to other officials from the KU, regardless of the economic standstill, the KU City project is chartered to continue despite the crisis. "The project is still ongoing. The central utility plant building is expected to be completed by the end of next month and we will have the construction program team stationed there, together with the maintenance, services and security departments. By having the construction team there, we will be able to follow up with the progress of the scheduled construction from up close," said Al-Fares.
He explained that roughly 95 per cent of the project's design plan is completed.
The infrastructure of the project will be built by local construction companies, but for the individual designs of each building, we will be working alongside international designers and architects, he explained.
Speaking to Kuwait Times about the specifics of the project, Yahia Dashti, the project's Public Relations Officer, explained that the new campus, which will have the ability to house up to 40,000 students will have three major campuses. The first two campuses will be segregated: the men's campus, and the women's campus, both of which will have nine academic faculties that will teach arts, literature, education, Sharia, sciences, social studies, engineering, business, and law. Dashti said that each campus will have its own identity. "The designs of the buildings will be different for each faculty. Each one will have its unique identity, which will differentiate it from its surrounding campuses," he said.
In addition to those, there will be a third co-ed medical campus that houses the university hospital, the faculty of public health, the faculty of pharmacy, the faculty of allied health, and the faculty of dentistry. That is in addition to three faculty buildings, one in each campus, to be used in the future. Speaking about the medical campus Dashti explained, "The campus will have a teaching hospital with 600 beds and a housing complex for hospital staff nearby," he said. Moreover, there will be a hotel, dormitories for males and females, as well as accommodation for the faculties' staff.
The two main segregated campuses will be separated by a water channel, and an artificial oasis of plants, palm trees and shrubbery. The plan of the City finds necessary the presence of nature in campus to give it a homey feeling for students, since they spend most of their days in the university during the years of their studies. He added, "Each campus will have green grass fields and a number of small ponds. It is vital to have these elements to create a perfect atmosphere that would be ideal to foster creative thoughts and ideas for both students and professors alike, " said Dashti. The area surrounding the KU City will be planted with trees and greenery so as to alleviate the heat and help preventing the effects of sandstorms.
The Kuwait University City's location will be 20 kilometers towards the west of Kuwait City, and can be accessed from the 6th and 7th Ring Roads. "The university management has learned from the disadvantages of the old campus; the new design will provide plenty of car parking spaces, a number air-conditioned, large gallerias between lecture halls to provide students with space to set up activities. There will be sports facilities, playgrounds, gymnasiums, museums and cultural centers to provide the students with as much activities as possible," said Dashti.
The KU City project was launched in 2004 after the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah issued a decree to build the new KU City.
By Hussain Al-Qatari
© Kuwait Times 2009
