Kuwait Metro project needs good planning: Al-Meneefy

KES symposium discusses development of transport sector

Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will host a Pakistani trade delegation, headed by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mian Humayun Parvez, at 11:00 am on Monday. Items on the agenda of the meeting include ways to further strengthen the economic ties between the two friendly countries and to determine the available opportunities in order to create more partnerships between Pakistani and Kuwaiti companies. The delegation includes nine members representing the sectors of import and

export, herbal medicine, car spare parts, real estate, fashion, tourism and chemicals. KUWAIT CITY, May 26, (KUNA): Kuwait Economic Society (KES) organized on Wednesday a symposium on “the development of the transport sector and creation of investment opportunities.” In his address to the gathering, Eng Najib Al-Meneefy, advisor to minister of communication, highlighted the need of good planning for the Kuwaiti Metro project in opening new investment opportunities in this vital sector.

The metro project, listed on the ambitious development plan, will contribute effectively to easing the traffic jams and the country’s goal to become a major international financial and commercial hub, he said.

“It will spare a lot of time and effort for the citizens and residents,” AlMeneefy said, regretting delays in the implementation of this project due to unnecessary red tape.

He criticized the layout of project for failure to take into account the urban planning and the development of the real estate.

“The routes of the metro have been set in a scientific way based on a true field survey. Instead, the project was designed independently from the transport system which means that it is doomed to failure unless it is integrated with the transport system and the urban planning,” he stressed.

Eng Al-Meneefy urged launching a public authority for designing, implementing, managing and operating the railway project.

He also urged working out the necessary legislations and regulations for making sure of the meeting the standards of safe operation of the railway project in the framework of a national transport strategy that could take into account the demographic aspects, and the movement of citizens and residents.

“With a designed capacity of 130,000 passengers a day, the metro is expected to bar more than 30,000 cars from moving on streets, thus minimizing the rate of road accidents,” he went on.

The feasibility study of Kuwait metro, part of a regional railway network, was developed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat in collaboration with the World Bank Group, he pointed out. The board of Kuwait Center for Commercial Arbitration affiliated to Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held its second meeting for this year on May 25. According to a press release, the meeting was headed by the Board Chairman of the center Abdulwahab Mohammad Al-Wazzan. The members of the board and the director of KCCI attended the meeting. Al-Wazzan said the center signed a cooperation agreement with the CLDP program affiliated to the US judiciary and commercial authorities, with the aim of enhancing the exchange of experiences

and benefiting from international experiences. Public Authority for Manpower Tuesday organized a coordinating meeting with the representatives of higher institutions of learning from Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Public Authority for Industry, and Central Statistics Administration. The meeting held in the headquarters of General Secretariat for Planning and Development focused on the strategic project for restructuring labor market. Kuwait University was represented at the meeting by Deputy VicePresident for Strategic Planning Dr Emad Khorshed along with Engineers Mona Hussein and Bashyer Al-Sharrah

from its Planning Sector.

With a total cost of KD 6.246 billion (some US$ 20.648 billion), the metro is scheduled to take five stages to complete, Eng Al-Meneefy said, noting that some GCC member states have started implementing their respective sectors of the regional network successfully.

Regarding the investment opportunities, offered by the project, he said the project is one of the major infrastructure projects and Kuwait vision 2035 for becoming a major commercial and financial hub.

“It will impact positively on the national

economy as well as on the land, air and maritime transportation,” Eng Al-Meneefy affirmed.

He called on the private sector investors to tap into the opportunities offered by this mega project with a view to improving the transport services.