Unionist charged with forgery

KUWAIT: The Sawaber Complex (right) in downtown Kuwait City. —Photo by Athoob Al-Shuaibi

KUWAIT: According to a study on Al-Sawaber Complex, a high-quality investment residential project would be built there as part of Kuwait City's 2030 urban plan, a Kuwait Municipality official said yesterday. He added that according to the project's plan, the complex will be entirely torn down and rebuilt to include the new investment housing units, retail sale outlets on the ground floor and facilities for residents, in addition to growing a central park surrounded by the housing units, deputy director for organization affairs Mohammed Al-Zobee said.

The government had completed the evacuation of the landmark compound earlier this year based on a cabinet decree. Built in 1981, Al-Sawaber Complex represents a distinct architectural, economic and cultural period in Kuwaiti history. One of the first high density complexes in the country, it is located on approximately 245,000 square meters of prime real estate property in the heart of Kuwait's financial district. The complex includes 33 buildings and more than 520 residential apartments.

Building collapse

The Kuwait Engineers Society concluded a report on investigating the reasons behind the collapse of a multi-floor parking lot's ceiling at the basic education college in summer. According to the report, the concrete pillars' crowns were broken, the steel used was rusty due to a water leak and the place lacked any security cameras. The investigating committee added it could not examine any concrete specimens because none were provided. The report also suggested that the use of heavy-duty machinery and excavators to remove debris was too heavy on the ceiling designed to bear a maximum weight of 2,500 kg, while the excavator was over 15 tons in weight.

Forgery

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry referred the head of its employees' syndicate Ajmi Al-Mutalqam to the public prosecution over charges of forging official documents about the expenses of the minister's office. The ministry explained that Mutalqam put extra zeroes in front of the figure of KD 70 spent by the office administration to make it KD 70,000 and posted the fake document on social media networks with the comment: 'The minister's breakfast costs public funds KD 70 daily, with a total of KD 70,000 spent."

Permits renewal

The Public Authority for Manpower has started renewing work permits and clearance certificates at citizen service centers in Sharq, Jaber Al-Ali, Jahra, Sulaibikhat, Government Mall in the Liberation Tower, Al-Qasr and Jleeb. In another concern, Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of State for Planning and Development Hind Al-Subaih ordered reshuffling her assistant undersecretaries and some senior officials.

By A Saleh