KUWAIT: Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Abdullatif Al-Meshari affirmed Monday the importance of adopting modern digital technologies to keep pace with development needs, enhance government performance, and support ongoing modernization in the housing and municipal sectors. Speaking at the opening of the Gulf Digital Building Forum 2025, organized by the Kuwaiti Federation of Engineering Offices and Consulting Houses (KFEOCH), Al-Meshari said the forum addresses a key topic for the future of construction and urban development in Kuwait and other GCC countries — the digital transformation of construction processes, city management and facilities management.
He stressed that such transformation directly supports improved engineering quality, stronger infrastructure performance and greater efficiency in public and private projects. He noted that Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) are working to implement digital methodologies to elevate planning standards, accelerate project delivery and enhance the management of facilities and properties in new cities and residential areas.
Al-Meshari highlighted major progress achieved in recent years in applying Building Information Modeling (BIM) to reduce waste, improve project oversight and raise the quality of outcomes. He added that smart city applications and facilities management solutions have rapidly expanded and now form an essential part of contemporary urban development. He commended KFEOCH’s efforts to equip the national engineering sector with advanced tools aligned with international standards and affirmed the strong partnership between the ministry and PAHW in support of sustainable development goals and Kuwait Vision 2035.
The minister emphasized that the forum serves as a strategic platform connecting government and legislative institutions with engineering firms to guide national policies and strengthen the adoption of new digital technologies across major projects. He expressed hope that the event would produce practical recommendations to build an advanced digital engineering ecosystem and reinforce Kuwait’s role as a regional leader in digital construction and smart cities.
KFEOCH Chairman Bader Al-Salman said the joint support from public and private sectors reflects a shared commitment to benefit from the forum’s outcomes by applying them to priority development projects. He said the initiative will help enhance cooperation with a rapidly growing private sector while advancing BIM adoption and smart city applications in both government and private developments. Al-Salman added that the federation is working toward a fully integrated electronic system for engineering licensing, enabling firms to obtain approvals directly and without human intervention, based on automated requirements set by the competent authorities. — KUNA
