A Diary of a New Town
The last couple of days have seen parts of block 1 overturned ready for the water pipes I assume. This picture was taken this morning. I hope the disruption is not for the whole two months that Bu Bader (comment on previous quote) mentioned this phase will take.
In any case this is good news. Water connection wil hopefully also mean some greening of the area. can’t wait.
My neighbor and friend, AbdulRahman, sent me this recent information ad from one of the newspapers. It looks like we are finally there with water supply. The tankers that always seem to start their pumps as I doze off to sleep will soon be a memory for us in Mangaf – and not a day too soon.
Block 1 water supply will be disrupted. I hope the new connections (my house is one) will be a simple process without too much digging and mess… Good luck to those doing the work and congratulations to the residents of Mangaf.
Street numbers have started to appear so the final touches are being added to Mangaf. We’ve lived here five years now and we can finally give out a full address. Very exciting.
No we just need the water to be connected and for some nice shrubs to decorate the streets. Anyone know when the water is coming?
I have been neglecting this blog for sometime now… It’s funny how the nearest of things can feel like the furthest. I often remember to post an update as I’m boarding a flight out of Kuwait. Then I get too busy when I come back home.
There are so many changes to the area with roads, footpaths, road signs and even newly finished houses. New mosques are nearing completion and many gardens are also taking shape.
The most recent update which I could not ignore is the testing of the street lights earlier today. It looks like the final set of street lamps will be switched on this week. It will feel very different – I remember when phase 1 was switched on back in December 2007.
It took me a while to realise what the mess was near the exit from 30. This is the largest diversion I’ve seen on a highway outside downtown Kuwait City. I think it will be a challenge for sometime. The plans for the bridge sound very exciting though, so it will be worth the wait.
The funny thing is that the project will take as long as we’ve been waiting for it. I first mentioned it in 2008 here, and again last year here.
Looking fuller and more like a typical Kuwaiti suburb, Google Earth have updated again recently and the above is the current view. No new roads are visible, which means the next update will look much more complete. There are signs of the preliminary work done on the main routes.
If you’re interested in how it looked before, click here for how it looked in March 2007; and here for February 2009.
