KUWAIT, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Municipality is keen on achieving the Amiri noble goal of turning the country into a global financial and commercial hub, Director General Eng. Ahmad Al-Manfohi said on Tuesday.
Al-Manfohi made the statement during the signing ceremony of the contract for the Fourth Structural Plan 2040, with the international leading consultancy office of Perkins and Will Global, jointly with the Dar Al-Handasah for design and consultancy.
The ceremony was patronized and attended by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
The Municipality has embarked on steps, in cooperation with the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), for identifying the financial areas in the country where foreign firms will be allowed to operate with no local agents, and permitted to own these areas with tax and customs exemptions, Al-Manfohi said.
He added that there are other government bodies involved in the process, like the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, and Finance, offering administrative facilities to the foreign firms in these areas.
According to Al-Manfohi, the Municipality has submitted a report to the Higher Committee for the Structural Plan and Great Construction Projects on the irregularities of the Third Plan, and how to avoid them in the new one.
He boasted the fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat had entrusted the Municipality with designing the bloc's unified structural plan, focusing on the border areas of the member states.
Head of structural planning at the Kuwait Municipality, Saad Al-Muhilbi referred to the Fourth Structural Plan 2040 as the country's "urban constitution and roadmap for development projects, Kuwait has been among the first countries of the region that adopted structural plans, which made it free of slums.
On his part, Perkins and Will Global representative David Green stressed the importance of the Fourth Plan that will turn Kuwait into an innovation center.
He added that the development plan set by the Kuwaiti Government that reflects the state's clear vision for the future. (end) sss.msa.msa