KD 288M SOUTH AL MUTLAA HOUSING PROJECT SUCESSFULLY HANDED OVER TO PAHW ON TIME!

'Future of this new city will be very bright'

A KD 288-million South Al Mutlaa Housing Project executed by Webuild S.p.A. (formerly Salini-Impregilo S.p.A) and Kolin Insaat, Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S was formally hand over on Thursday the 8th of October 2020 to the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW). The event was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Kuwait HE Carlo Baldocci and by the Turkish Ambassadress to Kuwait HE Ayse Hilal Sayan Koytak.

“The project was completed on time as planned and we are happy that we hand over Phase 1 and 2 without any glitches. Today we are handing over the Phase 2, while last week we organized the Phase 1 hand over of the project. So, the entire KD 288-million project is now formally hand over from the Consortium to the Public Authority for Housing and Welfare,” Resident Engineer Eng. Ali Sadeq said. “We encountered several obstacles along the way, but we managed to overcome them all,” he added.

According to Eng. Ali Sadeq, the 100-sqkm project comprises of 30 km of depressed roads amongst a total of 149 km of roadways. It’s a huge project, and once the area is inhabited, we expect a population of around half a million.

The project included the construction of primary infrastructures, completion and maintenance of the main roads and infrastructure works for the South Al Mutlaa Housing Project. The project is fully financed by the Government of Kuwait through the Public Authority for Housing Welfare. The contract was signed on June 30, 2016 between PAHW and a joint venture between the Italian International Contractor Webuild S.p.A. (formerly Salini Impregilo S.p.A.) and the Turkish International Contractor Kolin Insaat, Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. The works started in Sept 2016.

The project includes asphalt roads (149 km), vehicular bridges (nos. 26), utility bridges (nos. 31), pedestrian bridges (nos. 13) retaining wall construction (32 km), Concrete (1,4 million of m3), Asphalt material (1,8 million of Tons), roadway excavation works (11 million of m3), Roadway backfilling works (11 million of m3), Structural excavation works (10 million of m3), box culvert construction (12 km), micro-tunneling (45 km),Trencher excavation (40 km), Intersections (nos.61), Roundabouts (nos.34), Irrigation system (187 km), storm water system (162 km), Sanitary system (76 km), pumping stations (nos.15), electrical utility ducts (30 km), communication system (244 km) and Street lighting ducts (249 km).

“In one area alone - a third of the area - the proposed number of houses that can be built is around 28,288. There will be space reserved for commercial activities, and probably in the near future you will see a huge business district. The area is called South Al Mutlaa, but I am sure they will come up with a new name in the future. The future of this new city will be very bright,” Eng. Ali Sadeq said.

Giancarlo Zannoni, Contractor’s Representative and Project Manager of the Consortium lead by Webuild S.p.A., said this day is one of celebration for both the Partners of the Joint Venture. “This is a great day to celebrate for all of us. We realized the primary Infrastructure for this new city and as mentioned by our PAHW’s Resident Engineer, we completed the project on time as planned, despite the Covid-19 Pandemic. We are very thankful for the help of each and every one in our project team and I would like to thank our Partner Kolin Insaat, Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret AS and the Deputy Project Manager Mr. Ayhan Oner for their hard work and contribution to the construction works on site . It would not have been possible without their extreme effort, and of course also without the support from all the authorities in Kuwait, who cooperated and helped us secure all the necessary permits and licenses,” Zannoni said.

“We carried out the project without any delay during the execution of the excavation we faced many difficulties due to the nature of the soil, in particular the discovery of a big amount of rock, for which has been required the drilling & blasting method, used for the first time in the Country to break up the rock and for this I would like to do a special thanks to the Ministry of Interior to release us all the required license and permit. We are now hand over this challenging project to our Client PAHW. “he added.

The Italian Ambassador to Kuwait HE Carlo Baldocci said that the completion of the project on time is proof that the coronavirus pandemic couldn’t hamper their commitment to the Kuwaiti Government and that the Webuild S.p.A. and his partner delivered the project on time. “This is a commitment embraced by the Consortium in cooperation with all the agencies and we are very happy that we managed to deliver it on time. It’s a reflection of our commitment and no virus can delay the project. This is very important to us - it’s a success story by another Italian company. We shall continue to work with the Kuwaiti Government,” the envoy said.

“We have several other projects ongoing in Kuwait and we are happy to be part of a prestigious project like this. Infrastructure projects are such an important sector to be part of and we will continue sharing our expertise with Kuwaitis come what may,” HE Carlo Baldocci said. “Corona is has taught us many lessons in life - the world has been shattered and affected, but we shall all overcome this pandemic and be victorious,” he concluded.

The Turkish Ambassadress to Kuwait HE Ayse Hilal Sayan Koytak , said that ; ‘’As you might know, there are 44 Turkish contractors in the “Top 250 International Contactor List” of Engineering News Record (ENR) Magazine. Turkey ranks second with its number of contractors in this list. Many of our top-listed contractors have been very active also in Kuwait, especially for the last 10 years. Kolin Construction Company is among them’’.

‘’Here in Al Mutlaa, Kolin and his partner did a phenomenal job by finishing the project on time with no delays at all. Even though the effects of the global pandemic in Kuwait were very severe in the first half of this year, the Consortium was able to continue its project by taking all the necessary measures. Their efforts in this manner are priceless, because this area is going to be a home for more than 100.000 of our Kuwaiti friends. We are proud of having such successful construction companies, which are also contributing to the infrastructural development of our brotherly nation Kuwait.’’Said HE Ayse Hilal Sayan Koytak.