KUWAIT CITY, Oct 3: The Public Services Committee in the Council of Ministers is convening today (Sunday) to review the report presented by Municipal Minister Fahd Al-Shula on the current situation in the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh area, reports Al-Qabas daily. A reliable source has informed us that the committee will thoroughly analyze vital aspects concerning the enhancement of the northwestern section of the region. This analysis includes addressing challenges, evaluating property ownership and status, scrutinizing traffic and security conditions, and exploring various potential solutions.

The discussed options encompass imposing restrictions on leasing residential units to singles or the so-called bachelors, allowing the development of worker housing within industrial plots and agricultural areas, and granting permits for labor accommodations within major projects. The source highlighted that six specific locations have been designated for labor cities, collectively covering an area of 13,335,000 square meters. Additionally, eight sites have been earmarked for worker housing complexes, spanning a total area of 18,600,000 square meters.

Furthermore, the committee will carefully evaluate the recommendations outlined in the Minister of Municipality’s report. Depending on the evaluation of the current state of the area, appropriate actions will be determined. He added that the committee will review the recommendations included in the report of the Minister of Municipality, and if the current status of the area is maintained, the matter will require finding solutions to address the imbalance in the demographic structure; improving the security and traffic situation and putting an end to existing violations; developing the main and internal road network and modernizing and developing the infrastructure network (electricity, water, and sewage); taking advantage of plots 19 and 20 to provide residential care, which was previously acquired, and no specific use has been decided for them to date and improving and developing the health system

He stated that in the case of radical development of the area to keep pace with the surrounding uses, the following is needed to be done:

-- The necessity of expropriation in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of Decree Law No. 86/131, regarding the expropriation of real estate for which expropriation formulas have been issued. The Council of Ministers may issue expropriation formulas in the event of extreme necessity for considerations required by the public interest, and this shall be based on the request of the concerned authority and the presentation of the Minister of Municipality.

-- Handing over workers’ cities and residential complexes to workers in accordance with the decisions of the Municipal Council issued regarding them, and beginning their implementation in parallel with the expropriation and evacuation plan for the area.

-- Reorganizing the region in a civilized manner that is consistent with its distinctive location, finding solutions to create the necessary balance for the demographic structure, ending the phenomenon of existing Arab houses and the problem of commons spread within them, and organizing the network of external and internal roads in the region in accordance with developments in the surrounding areas.

-- Raising the level of services in the region by providing the necessary public facilities and services according to the proposed new uses. It is noteworthy that Minister Al-Shula explained, in his report, that the value of the acquisition of plots in the region, according to estimates for the year 2023, amounts to about 1.432 billion dinars. At its meeting, the Ministerial Services Committee will consider the request of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare to overcome the obstacles facing the S2 Investment Opportunity Project in Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City.

The Minister of Justice and Minister of Housing, Faleh Al-Ruqabah, had sent a letter to the Council of Ministers, regarding the delay in issuing building permits for the S2 Investment Opportunity Project in Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City, referring to the partnership contract concluded on September 8, 2020 between the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) and one of the companies for the management and development of lands and real estate, regarding the building design, financing, operating, maintaining and transferring the investment opportunity that serves the residents of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City in particular, and the areas surrounding the city in general.

Al- Ruqabah said that these projects are developmental, reduce the financial burden on the state, and translate the vision and plan of the State of Kuwait into the contribution of private sector activity to the implementation of development projects. Accordingly, the delay in issuing building permits negatively affects the indicators of the State of Kuwait. The committee will review the letter from the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, regarding its approval of the concerned party’s donation project to build a mosque in a public park in the Al-Masayel area, Block 1, at its own expense, if the neighbors agree.