Kuwait, S. Korea sign Saad Al-Abdullah city contract
Ministry panel accuses officials of negligence for floods
Kuwaiti Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services Yasser Abul and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation after
signing the contract.
KUWAIT CITY, April 3, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services Yasser Abul and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation on Sunday signed a contract for the planning and design of the Saad Al-Abdullah city.
The contract will be implemented over two years at costs of KD 12.5 million (about $41 million), the minister said. It is an example of successful partnership and cooperation between nations, he said.
Saad Al-Abdullah will be the first eco-friendly and smart city in the Middle East, mainly depending on modern technology, Abul said.
The contract was signed following detailed talks, and a visit by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to South Korea for boosting bilateral ties, especially in housing welfare and new cities.
On his part, Director General of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare Bader Al-Waqayyan said that the contract covers the technical, economic, environmental and scientific studies of the smart city, as well as the structural chart and the design of the road network.
The total area of the project is 64.42 million square meters, with 30,000 housing units, he added.
Al-Waqayyan referred to a MoU signed between Kuwait and South Korea on Sept 21, 2014 for cooperation in housing welfare and new cities.
The committee affiliated to Ministry of Public Works which is responsible for investigating the recent flood issue has started its tasks in studying the Sabahiya and Mangaf tunnels in coordination with a number of concerned specialized officials, reports Al-Anba daily.
Their investigations lasted for nearly two hours and involved reviewing the documents of the project. In the end, the committee accused the officials of negligence, non-protection of citizens and non-operation of the Mangaf station during the rainfalls.