KUWAIT CITY, July 13: The Kuwait Metro is a huge and long-awaited development project that has been subjected to numerous hurdles, prompting the State Audit Bureau (SAB) to include criticisms and comments in its reports, due to the large number of procedures and meetings that took place to implement the project and the long period it took to study and present it – about 10 years ago. The bureau’s reports indicated the amounts spent on consultations that were concluded by the law.

It also criticized the previous move to cancel the project due to the huge cost for the State. Sources from the Public Authority for Roads and Transportation (PART) confirmed in a statement to the newspaper that the Kuwait Metro project is included in its plan, but the implementation was postponed until the organizational structure of the authority is completed and the Board of Directors and the director general are appointed. Sources revealed the authority has gone through difficult circumstances and challenges over the past few years, including some ministers seeking to abolish it and merge it again as a sector in the Ministry of Public Works.

Sources said this was prevented through the rejection of the abolition procedures by the Public Utilities and Budgets committees in the previous National Assembly. Sources added these challenges contributed to the suspension of many PART projects, including the Metro; as well as its failure to fully exercise its powers and the disruption of the transfer of government departments’ subordination to the authority, which was stipulated in the law on its establishment in 2014.

Sources explained the project was under the Kuwait Public-Private Partnership Authority (KPPPA), then it was officially transferred to PART; which became responsible for studying, proposing and implementing it; but no decision has been made so far on whether to propose and implement the project. Sources continued stating that KPPPA conducted a study on the project that included the main paths and it was approved by the Kuwait Municipality, but the Municipal Council has yet to issue a decision in this regard. They pointed out that Kuwait Metro was envisioned as a rapid transportation system in urban areas, departing from the business and trade center in Kuwait City to several destinations.

They disclosed the project will be implemented in five stages with a total length of 160 kilometers and 68 stations. Sources disclosed the implementation of the first stage of the project will begin with a length of 50 kilometers and 27 stations. A heavy maintenance depot for railway cars will also be provided with an elevated section, linking Bidaa to Sharq. They said PART conducted a comprehensive review of the feasibility study prepared by the KPPPA in 2016. A scope of services has also been prepared to complete the study and design for the first stage.

It is expected that public transport lines will be modified in the future to transport passengers from residential areas or commercial complexes to metro stations. This strengthens the role of the metro as a basic mode of public transportation in the country, sources added. The authority also reviewed options for launching the project; taking into account its nature, importance, period required for proposal and implementation, and the total cost. The recommendation is to implement the project through the design-build system, sources concluded.

By Mohammad Ghanem
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff