Subih: Municipality signs contracts through 2030

As part of the state's development plans, Kuwait Municipality has signed contracts for projects going through to 2030, signed between start of 2009 and June 2011, said Municipality Director General Ahmad Al-Subih. Al-Subih told KUNA major contracts related to a central food testing laboratory project, upgrading Shuwaikh service and trade areas, Salmiya area traffic management, as well as the comprehensive public transport network project. The latter started in April 2009 and lasts 15 months, involving feasibility studies consideration of best transport means to be adopted, tracks and stopping stations, and required accompanying services. Another highlight is the Kuwait City urban development project, he said, which kicked off in August 2010 and lasts 13 months. It aims to plan the new capital city to best suit the current economic and political state of affairs and best serve the public with smooth access to all facilities and services. As for Shuwaikh development, he said the project started in December 2010 and lasts 15 months, aiming to improve service facilities in the service and business areas, keeping in mind the objective of making the country a regional financial and trade center. This includes review of current utilization of land lots, traffic grid, communication networks, and a data base to store information related to all these and other areas. The Salmiya traffic grid development project started in January 2011 and lasts 14 months, and was spurred by the economic boom and the boom in the area itself with new businesses and service outlets that caused great increase in traffic and is affecting connected motorways and nearby and surrounding areas as well as Salmiya itself. Al-Subih noted the project would consider the latest technology in traffic management and cooperate with all state bodies for best result. Another important project concerns establishment of a national microbial data base for poultry, the contract for which was signed in March 2011. The project lasts 18 months and is in cooperation with Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). It aims to provide general national assessments of microbial findings and to set recommended safe-levels of microbes in poultry distributed for human consumption. The contract for establishing the municipality's central food safety laboratory was signed March 2011 and lasts 30 months. The consultation contract covers counsel throughout the construction of the lab and focuses on verifying and guaranteeing best quality of all items and equipment to be used in the lab. Another main project Al-Subih mentioned was a consultative contract aiming to rehabilitate national staff in the field of information technology and systems. This involves 11 specialists and consultants to work full-time at the concerned departments to train the staff.