publish time

04/01/2024

author name Arab Times

publish time

04/01/2024

Kuwait implements stricter penalties for telecommunications tower violations: Fines and deportation introduced.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 4: The Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and the Minister of State for Communications Affairs, Fahd Al-Shoula, have enacted two ministerial decisions aimed at amending specific provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. (209) of 2009, which regulates construction works and the associated schedules. These changes stem from the Municipal Council's decision on November 27, 2023, outlining controls and conditions for establishing telecommunications towers.

One of the decisions outlines penalties for erecting a telecommunications tower without a license, imposing fines of up to 10,000 dinars and deportation for the executor or supervisor. The regulations specify that individuals or entities, including owners, operators, licensees from the Public Authority for Communications and Information Technology, office owners, engineering consulting houses, engineers, supervisors, contractors, or third parties, will face fines ranging from 100 dinars to 500 dinars if they use improper materials to fence communication station sites or fail to adhere to specified fence height and warning sign requirements.

Moreover, the decision imposes fines of not less than 3,000 dinars and not more than 5,000 dinars for placing advertising or promotional signs within station sites or on tower buildings. It also introduces fines of not less than 4,000 dinars and not exceeding 5,000 dinars if tower sites are left unfenced.

The decision emphasizes that unauthorized construction, exceeding specified areas, placing unstable cars without proper authorization, or violating the designated distance between station walls or tower walls and nearby residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, centers for people with disabilities, nurseries, farms, chalets, and tents will result in fines ranging from 9,000 to 10,000 dinars. Furthermore, non-Kuwaiti violators may face administrative deportation, withdrawal of engineering office licenses, and suspension of contractor classifications.

The second decision introduced service fees for the issuance of licenses to build stations, communication towers, or antennas, set at 200 dinars. Both decisions are effective from their publication date in the Official Gazette.