KUWAIT, May 19 (KUNA) -- The Ministry of Communications has made great progress in the railway project, through BOT, said Minister Dr. Mohammad Al-Busairi on Wednesday.
Speaking at a workshop held by the ministry, in cooperation with the World Bank, on establishing a land transportation authority, Al-Busairi said that related government bodies - including the Ministries of Communications, Interior, and Public Works, as well as the Municipality - had presented their studies and visions on regulating transport.
Al-Busairi, who is also State Minister for National Assembly Affairs, said that the Ministry of Communications had the greatest burden to bear in this project, but stressed the importance of bringing all efforts together in order to arrive at a common vision for this long-term transportation project.
"We want to establish a transportation authority as soon as possible, especially as the Cabinet has shown interest in this matter since 2008," he said.
He noted that the Arab transport minister signed a land transport agreement in February, aimed at linking their countries with a railroad that would first bring together the Gulf states.
On a different noted, Al-Busairi said that the government would be approving the annual plan in its next session, after the approval of the parliamentary financial affairs committee.
On his part, director of the technical committee for studying development initiatives and member of the metro committee Dr. Hisham Al-Tabtabaei said that the tender envelopes for the metro's technical consultancy services would be opened at the end of this month and that the winner would be announced four weeks from now.
He said that the consultation contract would be signed in August, after obtaining the approval of the Auditing Diwan and the Fatwa and Legislations Department, calling for the placement of a timeline for the establishment of a transport authority that was parallel to the consultation phase.
The metro's establishment procedures will begin in October, he said.
Meanwhile, Director of the World Bank's Office in Kuwait Dr. Radwan Shaaban said that the establishment of a transport authority would boost the performance of the public sector and empower the government in terms of organizational matter.
The World Bank is offering its international expertise in the transport sector in many countries, he said. - Kuna