The Government of Kuwait has shown its tendency to establish a commercial belt along the borders of the new housing cities complete with recreational and educational activities to provide services and implement the concept of an integrated city.
The same sources indicated the plan to establish the commercial belt, which has been completed, will be applied first to the city of Sabah Al-Ahmad, and later to all new cities, including the city of South Sa’ad Al-Abdullah and the residential city of Al-Mutla’a, and other new cities to be developed.
The sources confirmed the commercial belt will be planned to allow the establishment of many commercial activities, which the residents of those cities need, such as commercial complexes, shopping centers and private health clinics, in addition to allocating sites for the establishment of educational projects such as private schools and nurseries.
This is in addition to allocating recreational projects, noting the belt will be concerned with providing a package of services that are directly related to the quality of the daily life of the citizen.
On a related level, the sources confirmed that the project to establish a commercial belt for new cities would achieve many economic, social and environmental benefits, as a large part of those projects to be established would be allocated to initiators of small and medium enterprises, as a percentage of them will be determined from the total projects.
The sources pointed out that the commercial belt will be fully implemented by the private sector, provided that the government’s role is limited to organizing by identifying places to set up projects and offering land to investors, which would achieve many economic benefits and provide job opportunities for citizens in the private sector as well as increase government revenues by offering land to investors.
The sources indicated that the commercial belt to be built on the borders of the new cities will not be a substitute for the necessary tree belts for cosmetic and environmental reasons, especially as it contributes to the absorption of dust in a large proportion and improves air quality, at a time when various environmental and scientific indicators warn of the deterioration of the oxygen content in Kuwait’s air because of the increased concentration of pollutants caused by emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
The sources reported that the commercial belt of the new cities will have an influential role in solving the current traffic problem, as all requirements and services will be provided to residents of the new cities, reducing their desire to move to other vital areas outside the city.
The housing issue is on top of the government priority and requires urgent approval of a number of real estate laws in conjunction with the allocation of new residential cities, the most important of which are the real estate developer law, “real estate finance,” “smart cities,” “central cooling,” law and sustainability of buildings.
The Cabinet had directed the concerned authorities, led by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, the Credit and Municipal Bank, and the Ministry of Electricity and Water, to expedite the drafts of the aforementioned bills, and to take the approvals of the concerned authorities, in preparation for their referral to the National Assembly.
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