ShareKUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) will launch on March 15 the plan it recently approved to pave various streets using an extra asphalt layer, well-informed sources said. The sources added that MPW recently reviewed various road maintenance contracts to prepare an integrated plan, noting that the process will be supervised by three different teams including the Qatari Lab, MPW and a third with representatives from Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait University and the defense ministry's lab.
Meanwhile, the Orient Planet Research Company issued a report titled 'Fast Tracking Development: Road Infrastructure in the GCC', which stressed that roads, highways and bridges are among the most prominent infrastructure projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as the region increasingly becomes a major player in hosting high-profile world events.
The report added that from a global perspective, the UAE and Saudi Arabia rank among the top 12 global markets for infrastructure investment and expenditure on road infrastructure has been a major growth factor in the region, with governments continuing to find these investments vital to both social and economic growth, noting that governments continue to give a high level of priority to road projects. "To help resolve budget problems for these projects, there is a growing tendency towards providing enough funding through private public partnerships," the report explained, adding that the total cost of infrastructure projects in GCC states is $1.14 trillion.
The report also noted that the total of 1,069 projects are being executed in the region and that road infrastructure projects have accounted for the largest share of government spending, which was estimated at $122.6 billion in 2017 alone. The report added that UAE had allocated AED 15 billion ($ 4.8 billion) for major projects serving the 2020 Dubai Expo, Saudi Arabia invested over $400 million in nine major road projects and that the Kuwaiti government will execute a project to develop the 93-km-long Seventh Ring Road and plans to invest $13.2 billion in executing 24 new road infrastructure projects.
Factories fined
Kuwait Municipality has once more enforced laws on violating companies and factories in the southern desert areas through filing two citations with the total value of KD 440,000 for not renewing their safety and storage licenses, said an official source at the municipality, noting that some of the violating companies had been illegally sub-leasing warehouses.
Meanwhile, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Fahd Al-Shula stressed the need to regulate the process of renting temporary marquees. In different concern, the municipality approved a request by Kuwait National Cinema Company to build a commercial, cultural and recreational complex on land plot number 49 and build multi-storey parking on land lot number 50 as per the contract signed with the finance ministry.
Letter of admission
The Egyptian ministry of higher education cancelled the condition of obtaining a letter of admission approval from cultural offices of the embassies of countries with students studying at their own expense in Egypt, with the exception of new students. The letter will be mandatory for accrediting their degrees, said informed sources.
By A Saleh
