Municipal Council clears path for Kuwait-Saudi railway project
. . . endorses major infrastructure projects
The Municipal Council on Monday approved the Ministry of Public Works’ request to allocate the right-of-way for the planned railway link connecting Kuwait with Saudi Arabia, marking a key step forward in the Gulf rail connectivity project.
The rail route will extend 85 kilometers from Kuwait’s southwestern border in the Nuwaiseeb area to the main passenger station in Shaddadiya. The decision was taken during the Council’s main session chaired by Abdullah Al-Mahri.
During the session, the Council also approved several infrastructure and utility projects, including a request from the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy to allocate a route for overhead transmission lines linking the main Z3 electricity station in Sabah Al-Ahmad residential city with the Mohammed Al-Ahmad Naval Base in Al-Zour.
Another approval covered the allocation of a cable route starting from a main electricity substation in Block 1 of Al-Wafra residential area and extending north toward Abu Kharjin and Al-Subaihiya.
The Council further approved three requests submitted by the Ministry of Defense, in addition to a proposal by the Green Urban Development Initiatives Committee to establish a memorial at the intersection of Fahaheel Street and the First Ring Road between Dasma and Bneid Al-Qar.
It also endorsed a request from the Ministry of Interior to amend an earlier council decision concerning sites used by the Kuwaiti Driving School Company.
In service-related decisions, the Council approved a Ministry of Social Affairs request to relocate a 125-square-meter restaurant site in Khalidiya suburb center, Block 2, to an area adjacent to the police station. It also agreed to allocate part of a park in Al-Shaab for the construction of a secondary transformer station.
The Council approved the final amendment to Schedule No. 4 concerning building requirements and specifications in industrial, commercial, craft and scrap yard zones. It also granted preliminary approval for the reorganization of plots in Block 1 of Al-Siddiq area.
Meanwhile, the proposal submitted by Vice President Khalid Al-Mutairi to allocate a site for a used car auction was postponed.
The Council also adopted recommendations issued by the Committee for People with Disabilities following its recent workshop chaired by Engineer Farah Al-Roumi, reports Al-Rai daily.
The recommendations called for greater cooperation among government agencies to develop a national emergency evacuation guide for persons with disabilities in line with Kuwait’s accessibility code and universal design standards.
They also stressed the need for routine evacuation drills to include persons with disabilities and urged authorities to align emergency preparedness terminology with the national fire code to ensure safer implementation.
