01/02/2025
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01/02/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 1: The Ministry of Interior has held Kuwait Municipality responsible for the worsening traffic congestion in Sabah Al-Salem, stating that the municipality changed the land uses and issued investment and commercial licenses without consulting the General Traffic Department or obtaining its approvals. This lack of coordination has negatively impacted the capacity of the streets in the area and contributed to severe traffic congestion in the area and on the roads leading to it.
In response, the municipality submitted a statement to the Municipal Council regarding a proposal submitted by council member Dr. Hassan Kamal to evaluate and update the traffic study for Blocks 1, 2, and 3 of Sabah Al-Salem. The statement, which was approved by the acting Director General of Kuwait Municipality Manal Al-Asfour, explained that the municipality’s Structural Plan Department emphasized the need for a consultative traffic study for Sabah Al-Salem, similar to those conducted in Hawally and Salmiya. This study aims to address the ongoing traffic congestion in the area.
In October 2024, the municipality officially reached out to the Ministry of Interior’s General Traffic Department to review the proposal from a traffic perspective and provide a technical opinion. In turn, the Ministry of Interior informed Kuwait Municipality that Sabah Al-Salem is characterized by high population density, which has been further exacerbated by its appeal due to the large number of schools, hospitals, public facilities, and commercial activities.
This has led to a significant increase in traffic at the area’s entrances and exits. The ministry highlighted that the municipality’s changes to the land use and the issuance of investment and commercial licenses, without consulting the General Traffic Department or obtaining its approval, have negatively impacted the capacity of the area’s streets, resulting in severe traffic congestion both in the blocks and on the surrounding roads.
In its statement, the Ministry of Interior referred to the municipality’s letter dated November 21, 2023, in which the municipality requested the cancellation of the General Traffic Department’s role. This request was made in violation of Cabinet’s Resolutions No. 965 and No. 1450, which mandate coordination between the municipality and the Ministry of Interior’s General Traffic Department on matters that affect traffic movement in the country. The Ministry of Interior concluded its statement by urging the municipality to instruct the relevant authorities to update the structural plan in line with future developments, including the necessary road expansions and amendments.
By Inaas Awadh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
