KUWAIT: Japanese Ambassador to Kuwait Masato Takaoka (center) is seen at the Mishref walkway yesterday. - KUNA

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Environment Public Authority (EPA) and the Japanese embassy cooperated on a project to thermally insulate the five-kilometer Mishref walkway via a coating that reduces heat by around 10 degrees Celsius. In a statement to the press at the walkway, Japanese Ambassador to Kuwait Masato Takaoka indicated that the project had deepened relations with Kuwait within the environmental domain.

He said that the project, which also came in commemoration of 60 years of Kuwaiti-Japanese relations, had managed to reduce the heat at Mishref walkway, an outlet dedicated to work out and leisure. With heat reaching around 50 degrees Celsius in Kuwait during the summer, it is important to help protect people using the walkway, affirmed the Ambassador, adding that temperature taken yesterday at the walkway had shown that it was 38 degrees Celsius, while in regular cases it would be around 45 degrees Celsius.

This environmental cooperation is not the first between the two countries, revealed the Ambassador, pointing out that the Japanese Society in Kuwait would be resuming on November 27th their annual "Operation Turtle", a beach cleaning campaign, which stopped during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director for Technical Affairs at the EPA Dr Abdullah Al-Zaidan affirmed that Kuwait was eager to apply this technology throughout the country to help manage the heat and protect the environment. Not only does the coating protect people from heat, but it also prevents surface material deterioration, he said, pointing out that the experimental project in Mishref walkway had proved to be successful.

In a similar statement, director general of Mishref Co-Op Society Adel Al-Suryya said that they had cooperated with the EPA to apply the coating on Mishref walkway, indicating that the material was highly regarded and used around the world. In cooperation with a Japanese company, the coating product was used to reduce the heat to around 30 percent, indicated the official who added that it was important to improve the safety of the walkway for the public. - KUNA