ShareBy Faten Omar
KUWAIT: Under the patronage of Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Abdulaziz Al-Mojel, the 3rd Consulting Services for the Development Plan Forum (ENCON3) kicked off on Tuesday at Crowne Plaza Hotel under the slogan "Completing the plans of the electronic portal for permits and addressing the challenges of building and housing plans".
The event is organized by the Federation of Kuwait Engineering Offices and Consultant Houses (KFEOCH) from Jan 10 to 12 to discuss plans for digitizing the permits system and automated integration between concerned institutions in the public and private sectors.
In his opening remarks, Assistant Undersecretary for Affairs of the Capital and Jahra Governorates at the Municipality Ministry Thamer Al-Mutairi affirmed the construction and housing sector in Kuwait faces real challenges, especially private housing, such as a shortage of skilled manpower and paucity of building materials and equipment. He said the ENCON3 forum aims to present all challenges that construction and housing are facing locally and globally, along with security problems.
Mutairi indicated one of the problems facing this sector is global logistical services, which negatively affect the plans set for the completion of construction of private and national housing projects, pointing out these projects of various types and sizes constitute an important part of the ongoing vital economic cycle.
Bader Al-Salman, President of KFEOCH, said the forum aims to study the best ways to achieve developing a unified permits system portal for licensing related to construction projects of all kinds, as well as studying the challenges and solutions for the overall status of development and housing projects in Kuwait. "The forum also aims to identify the required solutions to remove obstacles that face planning and implementing projects, including creating a framework for following up implementation and applying effective governance procedures during the implementation stages," he said.
Salman revealed the forum shed light on needed actions in terms of reviewing legislation, procedures and regulations related to projects to enhance the role of engineering offices and the advisory role in development of plans. "The forum will host several panel discussions and lectures in which specialized experts from the public and private sectors will participate to contribute to developing a roadmap to achieve the goals," he said.
Mishary Al-Muhailan, Chief Development Officer, said this forum is one-of-its-kind, as it addresses an important issue related to construction and housing that affects many citizens, adding the panel discussions bring together experts with successful knowledge backgrounds, capable of combining their efforts with government agencies to cooperate in addressing more than 90,000 existing housing requests so far, with more than 140,000 Kuwaiti families on the waiting list.
KUWAIT: Under the sponsorship of Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, Kuwait University has opened its 43rd architecture exhibition at the conference center at Sabah Al-Salem University City."The private sector is able if given the appropriate opportunity to contribute effectively to resolving the housing crisis that the country has been suffering for decades by contributing to development processes, as most countries have done regionally and internationally," Muhailan noted. He indicated Kuwaiti real estate companies are pioneers in this field and have a proven record of success in completing housing projects inside and outside Kuwait, affirming the Hessah Al-Mubarak District is one of the largest housing projects of the United Real Estate Company in Kuwait, and has won multiple awards.
