The Kuwaiti Economic Development Fund will finance a centre dedicated to disabled people at A'Ali, Bahrain.

The construction of the Comprehensive Disability Complex Project, at a cost of BD7.4 million ($19.6 million), is expected to begin this year, said Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf.

A 29,106-sq-m plot has been allocated for this Social Development Ministry project, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Once completed, it will accommodate 1,450 persons, of which 160 are expected to be administrative staff, the minister said.

The ministry's construction projects directorate drew up the engineering designs for the project and would also supervise its construction, he added.

The minister said that the project has been designed to green buildings and sustainability specifications.

These include LED lighting, sensor mixers, double glazed and thermal insulated aluminium windows and thermal insulated roofs. The building design allows natural light to enter the building all day, saving on electricity consumption and helping with cases that require direct exposure to sunlight.

Insulated

To ensure a healthy environment inside the complex, all rooms, corridors and halls will be acoustically insulated using vinyl flooring and acoustically insulted roofs. They will reduce noise and provide a quiet environment for concentration and rehabilitation services.

The minister said that all the facilities provided in the buildings would be in line with the needs of people and staff with special needs. They will include slopes along the entrances to the complex buildings.

Social Development Minister Faeqa Al Saleh said that the A'Ali complex will have a number of access points from the main road. It will also provide four bus waiting sheds, in addition to parking spaces for people with special needs, visitors and members of the administrative, therapeutic and educational bodies.

She said that the complex will be equipped and operated by the Social Development Ministry in collaboration and partnership with civil society organisations.

The minister said that the project was initiated upon the directives of His Majesty King Hamad to allocate land for the construction of 10 rehabilitation and educational buildings for the disabled. - TradeArabia News Service