New study to reintroduce railway project to investors: Minister

KD 5.3 billion expected cost for public private partnership project

KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Hussam Abdullah Al-Roumi said another study will be conducted to reintroduce the railway project to investors. He said a technical financial study is being prepared to lay down the implementation mechanism by which the total cost of the project will be reduced through its execution by the roads authority, like Jaber Bridge, while partnership should be during operation and maintenance stages.

Roumi, responding to a question from MP Osama Al-Shaheen, said the expected cost for introducing and executing the project with public private partnership is KD 5.3 billion. The government will be committed to pay the total cost of the project, with annual payments of KD 177.5 million for 30 years. He said the project is not finalized yet, so the roads authority decided to restudy it due to the large financial commitments over a long period.

On June 5, 2016, the decision of the higher committee for the public private partnership projects decided to approve the feasibility studies of the project, the minister said. On Feb 7, the committee agreed to start by offering the project for investment, he added.

Nine percent

STR, a firm specialized in hotel research, said the hotel sector in Kuwait saw a nine percent increase in occupancy during 2017, reaching 56.7 percent. They said the average room price dropped by 4.7 percent to reach KD 62.1, compared to a rise in the average return of a hotel room by 3.7 percent to reach KD 35.23. They said these results are due to a rise in demand, which saw an increase estimated at 12 percent. The growth is expected to continue after the recovery of oil prices. Meanwhile, the hotel sector in the Middle East witnessed a drop in 2017 of 1.1 percent in occupancy rates at 65 percent, while prices dropped by 4.5 percent.

Labor cities

Sources said the international advisor for the labor cities project is preparing the project’s specifications, as five companies and international conglomerations have been qualified to participate in tenders for the South Jahra project. They said the specifications will be submitted to the bidding committee before submitting it to the higher committee and the start of receiving offers. The project aims at reducing the presence of laborers in families’ residential areas and improve the standard of living of the workers by charging reasonable rents.

Chamber of Commerce

The financial and economic affairs committee will hold a meeting today to discuss a proposed law to regulate the work of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the presence of the chamber’s president. The meeting comes on the heels of committee rapporteur MP Saleh Ashour receiving an answer to his question from Deputy Premier and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh that the government sent a proposed law with regards to the chamber in a decree no. 97/2010, and it is still at the National Assembly.

Nine percent increase in hotel occupancy

Automated link

An official source at the Manpower Public Authority said the labor need estimation department completed the automated link with the traffic department with regards to issuing records that shows the historic register of private cars in companies and establishments. The source said the automated linkage is being made with the Agriculture Public Authority with regards to all farming licenses, be it in the plant or animal sectors.