In view of the soaring cost of houses in Kuwait coupled with harsh legislations that have driven many construction companies away from building private houses, many opt to build residential apartment buildings that can be sold according to the conditions set by the Bank of Savings and Credit. Citizens are entitled to utilize a KD 70,000 loan to purchase one. Furthermore, the recent legislation that now allows divorced or widowed Kuwaiti women to receive housing loans has spurred construction companies into to building more apartment buildings, which was dampened by the soaring prices of investment land plots as a result of rising demand for land. Property investment became the most profitable and secure alternative after Kuwait Stock Exchange sustained considerable losses.
Experts say that apartment prices have hiked because of the growing demand from both young men and divorced and widowed Kuwaiti women, who prefer buying flats and renting them out to receive a steady source of income. They added that the growing demand for apartments have also led to a demand for old buildings. They noted that the highest demand was for mid- range apartments that cover an area of 70 to 90 square meters. They added that Salmiya, Hawally, Al-Shaab Albahri, Jabriya and Mahboula had apartments that cover areas between 50 and 220 square meters. Prices may differ according to location, area, and services available. For example, in Salmiya prices range between KD 48,000 and 80,000 for apartments that cover an area between 70 and 145 square meters.
Prices in Al-Shaab may vary between KD 60,000 and 95,000 for 100 square meter apartments; whereas in Jabriya the price ranges between KD 50,000 and 60,000 for apartments falling between 70 and 90 square meters; KD 50,000 for 90 square meter apartments in Hawally and KD 38,000-40,000 for 58 to 107 square meter apartments in Mahboula.
In another development, Minister of health Dr. Ali Al-Obaidi disclosed that in a bid to achieve more equality and justice among citizens, new guidelines for overseas treatment would soon be established. He also noted that recent statistics about the number of patients sent for treatment abroad fell within normal ranges.
Further, Al-Obaidi added that the total number of patients sent for overseas treatment over the past three months was 895, compared to 947 in the same period of 2010 and 656 in 2011.
"Overseas treatment is a right for citizens when the medical committee sees a need to dispatch them for treatment abroad", stressed Al-Obaidi, expressing his hope that overseas medical care would not become a political issue. The minister also underlined that all patients be treated equally in terms of the right to be sent abroad for medical treatment. He added that in a bid to subsidize the public sector, some patients could be treated locally in private hospitals or medical centers.
Further, the minister stressed that before a decision could be made all cases are subject for review by a technical committee to decide whether the needed treatment was locally available. "I have full trust in the doctors working on the committee and we will not tolerate turning treatment abroad into tourism", he stressed.
Kuwait Times
Jul 15
