KUWAIT: After three years of campaigning by environmental activists, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah yesterday ordered the suspension of any construction by the government or the private sector in Jamal Abdul Nasser Park in Rawda. Third constituency MP Mohammed Al-Dallal tweeted the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers will issue a written decision in accordance to the directives of the premier.

A number of reports have been published by Kuwait Times on this issue, as the park is a green lung for residents of Rawda and Adailiya. It also has a great historical value, because it is the second oldest public park in Kuwait after Al-Shaheed Park (formerly known as the Green Belt).

In October last year, a number of residents of the area and environmental activists gathered in front of the park demanding intervention from the National Assembly to stop the construction of a bank branch and a Quran House on 1,500 sq m of parkland. MPs Dallal and Ahmed Al-Fadhl were among those attending the vigil, while more than 400 residents of Rawda signed a petition against it.

By Athoob Al-Shuaibi