Heard about Kuwait’s Silk City (Madinat Al Hareer)? Here is your guide to understanding why this city represents an entirely new thing.
Over the past few decades, Kuwait’s reputation as an economic powerhouse and a tourist destination known for its cutting-edge buildings has skyrocketed as the country has become widely recognised as one of the most beautiful places on the Arabian Gulf coast.
Construction has begun on the futuristic metropolis of Madinat Al Hareer (Silk City) in Kuwait, and its inhabitants and visitors alike are eagerly anticipating its completion.
Madinat Al Hareer was first thought of as a way to help Kuwait’s rapidly growing population ease the strain on the country’s infrastructure. It is also expected to help the country’s already robust economy (the Kuwaiti dinar is the most valuable currency in the world) by attracting investments that will create about 450,000 new jobs.
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Location Silk City (Madinat Al Hareer)
The zone, across a bay from Kuwait City, aims to connect the Gulf region with Central Asia and Europe through commerce and banking.
Despite being officially named Madinat Al-Hareer, the area is more commonly referred to as the Silk City of the historic Silk Road commerce route. It highlights the significance the emir assigns to it. It lies 23 minutes away from Kuwait City and 18 minutes from Sabah.
Madinat Al Hareer, a silk city, developed over a total area of 250 square kilometers in Subiya, is expected to be finished in stages within 25 years at an estimated cost of 132 billion dollars, making it one of the most radical and expensive construction projects in the region.
The Jaber Causeway, which will connect the city to Kuwait City, is currently under construction. Still, its completion is eagerly anticipated because of all the exciting new amenities it will bring.
Why Madinat Al Hareer?
Attract more investors
The city of Silk is beginning to take form. Plans for the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port continue to advance, and the causeway, formally known as the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway, the longest of its kind in the world, will open this year.
Kuwait and China agreed to work together to establish the free economic zone in a memorandum of understanding in November.
More than half of the oil exported from the Middle East ends up in China, making it the world’s largest oil importer.
As a result, it is an important market for Kuwait. As a result, the government of Kuwait is making strides to ease the process of investing and doing business there.
It is essential for Silk City’s growth to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), whether from China or elsewhere.
The National, a regional newspaper, reported that Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, the prime minister of Kuwait, said at a conference last year, “FDI is still underdeveloped in Kuwait, and we think it is the best thing for the country and the best time to invest.”
Thousand of Jobs
Opening the causeway between the two sides of the bay would cut travel times in half and entice people to leave crowded Kuwait City in favour of Subiya.
To finish, Silk City will take a long time and an estimated $86 billion (€76.1 billion).
This massive undertaking will be completed over 25 years, considering its vast size.
It will also include the nearby islands of Failaka, Warba, Miskan, Awha, and Boubyan, serving as the port city’s twenty-four docking spots.
The Mubarak Al-Kabir will soar to a height of 1,001 metres and have 234 stories of luxury apartments and office space.
There will be enough space for seven thousand people between the hotels, apartments, offices, and recreational facilities.
While this is happening, up to 700,000 individuals will be able to find a place to call home within the city limits.
According to KUNA, there will be four separate communities there.
There will be different infrastructure types, including an airport, hotels, resorts, a sports academy, a medical centre, the Olympic Stadium, and several parks and reserves.
A green ring of parks and gardens will surround the Silk City. According to the EIU, the zone will be home to 450,000 new employment opportunities.
Why is Madinat Al Hareer the new ‘city of dreams?
In addition to its business, leisure, sports, and environmental areas and conference facilities, Madinat Al Hareer will feature several other attractions, such as an Olympic Stadium, a nature reservation area covering a 2km area, a new airport, and a duty-free zone.
What will Silk City Include?
The city is going to be split up into four different neighborhoods called “villages”:
The Financial Village: This component of the project will include the business center, conference rooms, and facilities, and it is intended to be a significant hub for international and regional commerce flow, as it will be situated directly in front of Kuwait City and near the new airport.
The Leisure Village: Here, you can find hotels and resorts in the Leisure Village, a world-class sports academy, a medical centre, and a marine sports centre, all near the canal that links the Arabian Gulf to the Dijla and Al Furat rivers.
The Cultural Village: At the heart of the Madinat Al Hareer are three distinct neighborhoods: the Educational District, the Diplomatic District, and the Government District.
The Ecological Village: It’s a 45-square-kilometre area in the middle of Madinat Al Hareer. It is home to protected areas for native wildlife, exotic flora and fauna, and migratory birds from Central Asia and Africa.
The ecological town would also feature a large park and a research facility dedicated to environmental issues.
In contrast, a green belt of gardens and enormous green areas would surround the entirety of Silk City, assuring visitors of a clean environment to explore.
Despite having a massive budget, Madinat Al Hareer has a long way to go before it can be considered a success.
This promising project bodes well for its future success and indicates that it will likely undergo further growth and increase its already impressive capacity and potential.