Kuwait Tightens Oversight with New Rules for Telecommunication Towers

This news has been read 2498 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 28: During its regular session yesterday headed by Abdullah Al-Mahri, the Municipal Council approved the new regulations within the construction schedules that include special requirements and specifications for establishing public communications towers in all areas of Kuwait. The regulations included limiting the distance between the fences of the communications towers and private housing buildings, schools, kindergartens, centers for people with disabilities, nurseries, chalets, farms, and other buildings by 20 meters.

According to the Deputy Director General of Kuwait Municipality Thamer Al-Mutairi, the Council of Ministers has set a deadline of February 2024 to address the randomness of the locations of the existing communications towers and stations in the country. The remedy for this begins with issuing a new communications regulation and requiring violators to follow the technical conditions contained therein.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Council approved the request of member Fahad Al-Abd Al-Jader to address the General Secretariat of the Municipal Council to coordinate with the Legal Department of Kuwait Municipality for determining and explaining the conditions and controls for the administrative deportation of the non-Kuwaiti violators within the penalties of the new telecommunications regulations, indicating that its amendments are technical, thoughtful, and not random. In this context, the Municipal Council approved adding an article to the new communications regulation No. 39 (bis) related to penalties and stipulating the imposition of a fine ranging between KD 9,000 and KD 10,000.

In addition to the fines, the engineering office’s license will be withdrawn, the contractor’s classification will be suspended, and the non-Kuwaiti violator will be administratively deported from the country if he commits one of the following violations:
■ Implementing telecommunications stations and towers without a license or supervising their implementation
■ Exceeding the area of 300 square meters designated for the establishment of telecommunications stations and towers
■ Placing unstable vehicles in locations for which no decision has been issued by the Director General of the Municipality or his authorized representative
■ Erecting communications stations, towers, or antennas in locations other than the permitted locations
■ Failing to adhere to the required 20-meter distance between the border of the station or tower fence and private residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, centers for people with disabilities, and nurseries.

The article imposes a fine ranging between KD 100 and KD 500 for using materials other than iron mesh that does not obscure the view of the site of communications stations and towers, or for not adhering to the specified height of the fence of the site of communications stations and towers, or for not placing advisory and warning signs on buildings and sites containing communications stations and towers.

The penalties include a fine ranging between KD 3,000 and KD 5,000 for placing advertisements or promotional boards within a site or on the buildings of communications stations or towers. Likewise, a fine ranging between KD 4,000 and KD 5,000 will be imposed in case of not fencing a site containing communications stations and towers. Article 39 stipulates that “In all cases, a ruling shall be made to remove the violation and restore to its original state. It is permissible to add to these penalties the penalty of suspension of the license for a specific period or withdrawal of it.

By Enas Awadh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 2498 times!