By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: The New Maternity Hospital is the first medical project in the Middle East that has one specialty, built at a cost of KD 220 million. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works in Kuwait, the hospital is three times larger than the old one and expected to be ready by the first quarter of 2023.

Kuwait Times spoke with Meshaal Al-Enezi, Project Engineer at the New Maternity Hospital, about the project's details.

Kuwait Times: Where is the project located and how many floors and departments does it have?

Meshaal Al-Enezi

Meshaal Al-Enezi: The project is located in the Al-Sabah medical zone opposite the existing maternity hospital in a prime location on the Arabian Gulf coast, and comprises of four main buildings interlinked by air-conditioned bridges. The main hospital consists of a basement and a six-floor podium topped by three towers ranging from 13 to 17 floors. The outpatient building consists of two car parks, a basement, ground and five floors. The multistorey car park consists of two basements, ground, five floors and a shaded parking roof. The central utilities building houses all MEP equipment and is connected to the main hospital building through a 51-m-long services tunnel.

The New Maternity Hospital is a state-of-the-art specialized hospital having all clinical and non-clinical departments related to obstetrics and gynecology diagnostics and treatment including an emergency ward, laboratories, pharmacies, radiology, intensive care units for adults and neonatal patients, outpatient clinics and nutrition services, besides the administration, engineering and general services support departments.

KT: Going deeper into the details of the projects, who are the people involved in the construction, and why this design?

Enezi: The parties involved in the design and construction of this project are:

End-user/beneficiary: Ministry of Health

Client: Ministry of Public Works

Consultant for design review and full onsite supervision: Pan Arab Consulting Engineering

Main Contractor and Designer: Impresa Pizzarotti Co, assisted by a consortium of international healthcare consultants, Studio Altery, local consultant S Al-Marzouk and AbiHanna SSH.

65 specialized subcontractors executing all kinds of works including medical equipment and medical and non-medical furnishings.

KT: What are the tasks and works of the projects? What are the phases involved?

Enezi: The project is a design and build project. It has six main phases, specifically concept design, schematic design, design development, final design, and then the ongoing construction phase, followed by completion of works and handing over to MoH in the operation and maintenance phase.

The Generator building of the hospital.

KT: What are the obstacles you faced during the project and how did you manage to overcome them?

Enezi: The COVID-19 pandemic had negative implications on the project's progress due to manpower issues, no new work visas, full and partial area closures, expats' entry restrictions and delays in air and sea freight.

KT: What about the number of MPW employees on the project site, the percentage of Kuwaitis, and the site's needs for new employees?

Enezi: The MPW supervision team consists of around 45 Kuwaiti engineers with different specializations and years of experience, which are enough for the project.

KT: Why are such projects important for Kuwait? What does it mean for the New Kuwait 2035 vision?

Enezi: Healthcare projects, in general, are of prime importance for the wellbeing of the Kuwait population, and the NMH project is one of the projects registered in the five-year development plan. It is considered one of the basic components of the 2035 vision in the development of the healthcare infrastructure sector.

KT: What is the significance of the design? How many years did it take to build?

Enezi: The unique architectural concept design of this project took good advantage of the prime location of the site on the Gulf coast, giving 80 percent of the 460 patients' private suites direct view of the Gulf's waters. The total duration to build the project is around five years, including a one-year extension for COVID-19 delays.

KT: What is the interior design style of the structure and the total area of the construction site?

Enezi: The project's interior has adopted a state-of-the-art contemporary design for healthcare facilities with a selective color scheme for each tower to meet the local culture and maternity needs. The total site area is around 60,000 sq m with a total built-up area of 237,000 sq m, making it a mega project.

New Maternity Hospital overlooking the Arabian Gulf.

KT: What makes the project different and unique from other current building projects?

Enezi: Healthcare projects are generally different from traditional buildings, and a specialized maternity hospital is unique from other projects. The functional space planning, construction material and furnishings are in strict compliance with international special healthcare codes like FGI and MoH infection control codes.

KT: What stages the project has and what is the final stage for completion? Can you give a brief about them?

Enezi: As explained earlier, this is a design and build project where the contractor has to develop the contract's concept design into detailed designs through four design stages (concept, schematic, development and final designs), followed by the construction and furnishing stage, at the end of which the project is handed over to the Ministry of Health. The final contractual stage of the project after handing over is the two years of operational maintenance for all works and three years of maintenance for medical equipment.

KT: What are the security and safety rules in the project?

Enezi: A comprehensive program of security and safety procedures has been adopted for the project in accordance with the regulations and laws in force in Kuwait, as well as international regulations for security and safety procedures. The project is also provided with the latest security and safety systems, such as cameras that monitor entrances and exits around the clock, doors to suites that work with the magnetic card system, and a protection and tracking system for newborns.

KT: How were the infrastructure and international standards established in the project?

Enezi: By building a network of internal roads of all kinds and pedestrian paths, drinking water, irrigation and firefighting networks and the sewage network. The diversity of water treatments for the different types of polluted wastewater from laboratories, operating rooms, kitchens and others is taken into account before it is discharged into the main network.

We also built a rainwater and surface water drainage network, central networks for compressed air and medical gases and liquid oxygen, energy services for permanent and emergency electricity to all parts of the hospital from diesel and fuel generators, and communication services including Internet, telephone communications, surveillance cameras and security and safety systems.