Hello everyone -
Thought we should start a thread about a new mega-project this country has desperately needed for years: the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Center. The Amiri Diwan is behind this project.
The project is currently under construction on the site previously occupied by the Flag Square across from the Holy Family Church in downtown Kuwait City. The site is bordered by the Arabian Gulf Street on one side, the Al Salam Palace on another, the First Ring Road/Jahra Road Expansion on the backside and the Gulf-side entrance to Al Sour Street on the other.
No renderings have been released yet but the design apparently calls for several angular buildings built of titanium shells that are completely pillar-free inside. The project will include the following:
- An opera house
- A 3200-seat theater
- An outdoor amphitheater
- A music center and studios
- A library and children's library
- A government archive
- Offices for the Amiri Diwan
- VIP reception hall
- A flag-hoisting area
- Shops and cafes
- Outdoor landscaping
Completion is due within 18 months for a target opening of October 2015. Apparently, they're already two months ahead of schedule.
Together with the Al Salam Palace, which is under restoration to return it to its 1960s glory and reopen it is a museum, Kuwait will finally put itself on the Gulf culture scene. I believe that with the backing of the Amiri Diwan, this project might actually go through without any snags. Fingers crossed and let's hope that this project is the first of many good ones in the renaissance of Kuwait.
- K
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Drake & Scull signs Dh180 million in Kuwait deals
The Dubai-listed contractor Drake & Scull International has signed deals worth more than Dh128 million to carry out mechanical electrical and plumbing work in Kuwait.
Drake & Scull’s Kuwaiti subsidiary said yesterday thatit had won a Dh68 million engineering contract to install plumbing and firefighting systems for the new Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre in Kuwait City centre.
The new cultural centre, which is being developed by Kuwait’s Amiri Diwan – the office of the emir – will be located in Flag Square next to Kuwait’s Al Salam Palace.
Sketches of the development show that it will comprise a 3,200 seat theatre, a convention hall, studios, a music centre, an archive, a children’s library and Amiri Diwan offices. The scheme will also include a VIP reception hall, an outdoor theatre, a flag-hoisting stand and shops and cafes.
DSI Kuwait will undertake supply, installation, testing and commissioning of plumbing and firefighting works, which it says will be completed by October next year.
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/drake-scull-signs-dh180-million-in-kuwait-deals
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