Madinat al-Hareer 3.33

Madinat al-Hareer, is a proposed 250km2 planned urban area in Subiya, northern Kuwait. Upon construction, it would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, a nature reservation of 2 square kilometres, a duty-free area which will be beside a new airport, in addition to a large business center, conference areas, environmental areas, athletic areas, and areas that concentrate on media, health, education, and industry. The City of Silk will also include numerous tourist attractions, hotels, spas, and public gardens. The city will be built in individual phases with total completion within twenty-five years. The development will cost an estimated 25 billion Kuwaiti Dinars . In May 2014, the Silk City project was on hold.In June 2014, the Kuwaiti government approved a decree creating a body in charge of developing Silk City and Boubyan Island. Kuwait also signed a cooperation agreement with China for developing Silk City and its economic belt. On June 3, 2014, Silk City's final masterplan was approved, the new Silk City masterplan replaces previous proposals. The Jaber Causeway is currently under construction.DesignThe main attraction of Madinat al-Hareer, the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir will stand at 1001m tall. If the Silk City is completed it will also include Olympic Stadium, residences, hotels and retail facilities. Up to 700,000 people could be housed in the city complex and 450,000 new jobs. The complex is planned to be built across Kuwait Bay and will be linked to Kuwait City by a 23.5km bridge named Jaber Bridge (Arabic: جسر جابر). The bridge should decrease driving times from Kuwait City to Madinat al-Hareer to seventeen minutes rather than the usual one-and-a-half-hour drive around Kuwait Bay. Images of the proposed design were made public on March 30, 2006.