Kuwait Towers
Kuwait Towers is a group of three slender towers that symbolizes Kuwait’s economic resurgence and also World cultural as well as touristic landmark. The structure is often referred to as Kuwait tower in singular although there are three towers. Standing on a promontory into the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait towers were officially inaugurated in 1979 and are rated as a tourist attraction and iconic building of modern Kuwait.
The Kuwait Towers delightfully suggest a combination of traditional Islamic design and modern architectural themes, with comparisons being made to blue-tiled mosques and slender minarets of Samarkand and Bukhara. The easy visibility and popularity of the towers with photographers is also due to the fact that there are no other high rise buildings in the general area of the Kuwait Towers. Ever since the official inauguration of the towers, they have come to signify the prosperity and opulence that has boosted this previously sleepy backwater country into the world’s tenth richest country per capita.
The plan of constructing Kuwait Tower dates back to 1962, less than a year after Kuwait achieved its freedom from England. The design was done by Swedish architects Malene Björn and Sune Lindström of Vatten-Byggnadsbyzan (VBB) and this was officially approved in 1971. Belgrade-based contractor Union-Inzenjering was assigned with most of the structural work which was completed between1975 and 1976.
Seven months of Iraqi occupation which began on August 2nd, 1990, when Saddam Hussein of Iraq invaded Kuwait had left an ugly mark on Kuwait. Kuwait salvaged its sovereignty after a 100-hour ground campaign that began on February 25th. Saddam’s troops were guilty for sabotaging actions intended to wipe out all reminders of an independent Kuwait which also included the Kuwait Towers. Iraqi soldiers deliberately shattered the towers’ electrical utilities and wrecked interior facilities besides causing damage to the towers’ exteriors with gunfire and shrapnel.
The damage sustained to the Kuwait Towers (estimated to be 75 percent) was repaired throughout the balance of 1991 and well into 1992, and necessary technical as well as comfort facilities were restored to their original condition. The refurbishment cost was an estimated KD 2 million. On December 26th of 1992, it was an inspirational occasion for proud Kuwaiti citizens as the Kuwait Towers were officially reopened to the public by Nasser Al-Roudhan, Finance and Planning Minister at that time.
