Plans have been revealed
for the first phase of Silk City, a long-trailed scheme to build a 250-km2
city in Kuwait.
The $86bn first phase will
include an international airport, a rail network, a logistics and industrial
hub and a free-trade zone for Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, local media reported.
The scheme, known as Madinat
al-Harir in Arabic, may be developed with help from China following the signing
of a series of memorandums of understanding, with the first signed in June 2014
and the latest in November last year.
The details of phase one were
published by Kuwait’s state news agency after a visit to the country from a
35-member Chinese delegation led by led by Ning Jizhe, vice chair of the
powerful Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. The group also
included members from the China Communications Construction Company and China
Development Bank.
Faisal Al-Medlej, the chief
executive of the Apparatus for Developing Silk City and Boubyan Island, said
the project was intended to turn Kuwait into an international financial, trade and
cultural hub.
Other phases of the city are
expected to include housing for 700,000 people, an Olympic stadium, and the 1-km
Mubarak Al-Kabir tower. The city will be developed on islands and connected to
the mainland by the Jabar Bridge, which would be the fourth longest in the
world
Plans are also in the pipeline to
develop a public-private partnership model procurement strategy for Mubarak
Al-Kabeer part.
