Kuwaiti Minister of State for Development and Planning Affairs and Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Hind Al-Sabeeh on Wednesday visited the revamped large-scale waterfront in Tokyo's vicinity, where she inspected modern urban development.
According to Urban Renaissance Agency (UR), which started the project in Yokohama, Japan's second-biggest city after Tokyo, in 1983 at the request of the local governments, the Minato Mirai 21 district covers the 186-hectare land.
UR said most of the infrastructure development works completed in 2006. Minato Mirai 21 literally means "future port of the 21st century." The USD 20 billion redevelopment project is the core of Yokohama municipal government's initiative to revitalize Yokohama's port area, and establish the city's autonomy and business functions from giant Tokyo.
Facing Yokohama Port, one of Japan's top international trading ports with a 150-year history, Minato Mirai accommodates more than 1,700 companies with 93,000 workers, commercial facilities, hotels, amusement parks, convention facilities, museums and concert halls. The revamped waterfront attracts more than 74 million visitors every year, according to UR.
At the meeting with UR President Ikuo Kaminishi, the minister said, "We hope to enhance relationship with the Japanese side in all aspects. We are expecting a lot of benefits from Japan's expertise." Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) and Kuwait TV after the meeting, Kaminishi also expressed hope for closer cooperation with Kuwait in development projects, saying, "We are ready to further share our expertise and hope to continue exchanging ideas." UR was established in 1955 by the government. Active for nearly 60 years, the agency has three basic missions -- disaster restoration, redevelopment of urban areas and rental housing. The agency maintains over 770,000 housing units across Japan including 450,000 units in the Tokyo area. The delegation included Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi, Secretary-General of the Kuwaiti Supreme Council for Planning and Development Hashim Al-Rifai and other officials.