Housing project in the south for expat workers to boost security
Health minister meets officials of Dhaman hospitals firm
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: The Director of Partnership Projects Floating and Bids Evaluation at the Public Authority for Public-Private Sectors Partnership Projects Engineer Lulwa Seif has described the workers cities project as a social security project in the first place. She considered the proposed model schools canceled by the Ministry of Finance a solution to the problems of installing air conditions in schools during summer and bubbling water in the winter, in addition to all technical problems experienced by educational facilities, reports Al-rai daily.
Eng Lulwa, in an interview with the daily, said the housing project in the south of the country which is being built for limited income workers (about 20,000 workers) will greatly enhance the security aspect.
She indicated the city includes police stations and surveillance cameras, so that a worker will feel safe in a place where he lives. She stressed the city will provide all amenities and services to ensure a decent life for workers.
She explained that a team from the Partnership Projects Authority visited the State of Qatar and Abu Dhabi to get first hand experience about workers accommodation and benefit from it. She informed the authority will build a similar city in South Jahra to make it one of the best workers cities and build many more such cities.
Meanwhile, Eng Lulwa hopes the proposed model schools will also be reviewed, noting that “the project will transform the role of the Ministry of Education from the executive role to the followup role, through the development of educational curricula and the preparation of teachers, and leave matters related to the maintenance of buildings to the investor.
In a brief description of the workers city project that will be built in south of Jahra city, she said the project is one of the six projects that will be established in different areas of Kuwait.
She added, this project was submitted by the Kuwait Municipality to the Partnership Projects Authority to be launched in accordance with the public-private partnership system.
She disclosed the workers city is built on one million and fifteen thousand square meters to include housing and service buildings (health center, fire station, police station and mosque), commercial buildings, green spaces and playgrounds.
The tender documents (technical conditions) speak of excellent specifications, to design the city in accordance with the international standards for housing, and “I would like to point out that this city can accommodate 20 thousand workers, and can absorb even a larger number, but for security reasons was agreed to house only 20,000 male workers.
She disclosed five investors have been qualified, and the investment period will be 40 years, including three years that will be used in the design, financing and construction of the project, and then project management, maintenance and operation will be handed over to the State of Kuwait.
Speaking of the obstacles, she said water and electricity services serving the project is one of the obstacles faced as of now, but there is ongoing coordination between the Partnership Projects Authority and the concerned parties to solve the problems related to the time period needed by the ministries of service to provide these services.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah recently met officials of Dhaman Health Assurance Hospitals Company to follow up procedures for the operation of Dhaman Center for Initial Health Care which will offer medical services to expatriates, reports Alrai daily quoting a knowledgeable source.
The source disclosed the meeting includes signing the cooperation agreement between the ministry and Dhaman Center according to the timetable of the development plan of the ministry. The source affirmed that all requirements of supervisory authorities; as well as administrative, medical and technical conditions for the operation phase.