The Kuwait Municipality has initiated demolition work on 263 violating properties in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, stepping in after the two-week window for owners to carry out the work themselves expired. An informed municipal source stated that the action targets structures deemed at risk of collapse, with the municipality now overseeing contractor operations to clear the sites and recover costs from non-compliant owners where applicable. The campaign forms part of sustained efforts to address safety hazards in one of the governorate’s most densely populated districts, where technical assessments had previously identified widespread violations.
A Ministry of Public Works assessment examined 286 properties in the area and determined that 263 were in danger of collapse while four were newly built, one was under restoration, 16 were vacant plots and two were under construction. The government center for testing, quality control and research under the ministry supplied the technical findings that prompted the municipality to publish owner notices in the official gazette. Municipal procedures require such publication in Kuwait Alyawm to serve as formal notification, after which the authority proceeds if owners do not act.
The official gazette notice issued on October 4 gave property owners precisely two weeks to evacuate and demolish the unsafe buildings at their own expense, according to the municipality. With that deadline now passed, municipal teams have moved to supervise contractor demolitions, ensuring utilities are disconnected and sites are secured beforehand to protect public safety. The municipality had encountered difficulties obtaining contact details for some owners, making the gazette publication the primary channel to communicate the inspection outcomes and required actions.
This latest enforcement follows a broader security campaign in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh that uncovered illegal housing and triggered the comprehensive property inspections, the Ministry of Interior indicated in related statements. Joint operations involving the ministry, Kuwait Fire Force and the municipality have repeatedly targeted unlicensed activities and substandard structures in the district over the past year. Earlier municipal records show that similar drives resulted in the supervised demolition of 42 dilapidated buildings in June under the Farwaniya Governorate team, with safety protocols including resident evacuation and fencing observed throughout.
Kuwait Municipality data from previous phases placed the removal of 67 non-compliant properties in November of last year as part of the same long-running initiative to improve living conditions and eliminate hazards. The authority has maintained that all demolitions adhere to approved safety standards, with field teams issuing violation notices and coordinating utility cutoffs in advance. Such measures have removed thousands of tons of rubble across multiple operations while aiming to deter future violations in the area.
Ongoing municipal oversight in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh includes monitoring for commercial misuse of residential-zoned buildings, according to directorate reports. The latest demolitions align with directives to enforce zoning rules and building codes that had been breached in many of the inspected sites. Authorities continue to coordinate across ministries to ensure the cleared land meets regulatory requirements before any future redevelopment.
