Former residents of Sawaber Complex express unhappiness, call to reopen file
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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 19: The Al- Sawaber Complex case has returned to the spotlight again about four years after the demolition of the Al-Sawaber buildings and the eviction of its residents, some of whom were given apartments in the Northwest Sulaibikhat project, and some others obtained an appraisal value estimated at the time at KD 233,000, reports Al-Qabas daily. The number of Kuwaiti families who obtained the amount was 250, but they complained about the inability to buy suitable housing with this amount. They hence demanded the reopening of the file and their inclusion in the law related to “whose house was possessed by the state.” Some residents of the Al- Sawaber Complex brought to the forefront their case, which has been ongoing for about four years, and demanded the reevaluation of the financial value they obtained at the time, insisting that the amount of KD 233,000 dinars, on the basis of which they valued their housing in the area, is not enough to buy an appropriate family housing.
They called on His Highness the Prime Minister to instruct the Minister of Finance to look into their issue and investigate the valuation mechanism that was carried out on illogical measurements. In this regard, a Kuwaiti citizen Mutlaq Al-Sanea, a former resident of the complex, said the real estate prices witnessed a crazy rise before he obtained the amount of appraisal, and he has not yet been able to buy a suitable alternative real estate for himself and his family, as the financial value of the homes exceeds the amount spent for him in the appraisal.
He revealed that the state’s grant of KD 233,000 to Kuwaiti families to vacate the Al-Sawaber Complex was based on an area of 42 square meters only, but the size of the apartment, according to the document owned by the residents, is more than 278 square meters. Al-Sanea insisted that suitable residential apartments for Kuwaiti families are not available in the required form, and the value disbursed to them is not enough to buy a house in the new areas.
He called for the inclusion of citizens among the residents of Al-Sawaber Complex in the law related to “whose house has been owned by the state”, so that they can obtain suitable housing in the new areas, adding, “Distribute them through housing welfare, or give them loans through bank credit, as this will contribute to the purchase of a suitable home”. He indicated that he and a group of residents requested a meeting in the coming days with His Highness the Prime Minister to present a request to reconsider the issue of valuation and include them in the laws related to housing care. Figures from the archives of the complex –
a. The complex comprised of 528 apartments before it was demolished
b. KD 110 million – the total value of the valuation
c. 23,000 square meters – the total area of the complex
d. 470 units were expropriated… and 22 were allocated to housing welfare
e. 34 alternative apartments for beneficiaries in northwest of Sulaibikhat area
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