Pre-project monitoring hinders implementation: official

KUWAIT: Vehicles drive by an overpass under construction in Kuwait. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Director of the roads and land transport authority Ahmed Al-Hessan said the authority has 25 projects in progress and that most of them will be inaugurated this year. Hessan added that the most important of those projects are the southern roads linking Mina Abdullah, Wafra and Sabah Al-Ahmad City, as well as the northern ones linking North Khairan, Sabah Al-Ahmad and the Zour-Wafra road.

Hessan said like other government bodies, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) has suffered a lot because of lengthy paperwork, adding that the roads authority is trying to overcome such deterrents. "We are trying to cancel pre-project monitoring, which had been hindering many projects. We are almost the only country in the world to have such a system," he said, adding that several other projects will commence this year.

Administrative interference

The government performance follow-up agency urged various ministries to counter any administrative interference in services and liabilities with the aim of simplifying procedures, improving government performance and enhancing work efficiency. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry denied any contradictions of liabilities with the Central Bank and the Capital Market Authority, and stressed that the three bodies only cooperate according to a number of memos of understanding signed in this regard.

By A Saleh