Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities have issued a binding decree committing restaurants and coffee shops in the country to serve filtered tap water free of charge instead of selling bottled water to them, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.
The Kuwaiti Minister of Trade and Industry Mohammad Al Aiban has issued the decree whereby restaurants and cafes are obligated to serve the filtered water provided by the state authorities to clientele for free if they request it, and refrain from imposing bottled water on them when they order food.
These businesses are also committed under the same decree to install filter devices to handle the water served to customers in line with terms set by the competent agencies for water quality and filter installation.
The reported decree rescinds any other rules that may contradict it and is due to take effect from the date of its publication in Kuwait’s Official Gazette, the report said without saying when the new arrangement will go into effect.
There was no immediate comment from authorities, or owners of cafes and restaurants, which are among the big economic sectors in Kuwait.
According to 2018 figures, there were some 111,000 cafes and restaurants at the time in the country of around 4.6 million people. The sector was among businesses hard hit by the economic fallout from the global pandemic due to related restrictions in Kuwait.
And as part of new government regulations, head of the Kuwait Municipality Saud Al Dabus disclosed that a recent meeting had been held with environment, food and road authorities to specify beaches where barbecue parties will be permitted.
A list of these beaches will be announced in two to three weeks’ time, he said. “There will be an (implementation) mechanism and presence of the agencies concerned to do a supervisory at the sites that will be allocated,” Al Dabus added without elaborating.
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