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GCC region ..... big demand for green building materials.

Boom time for green construction in GCC

DUBAI, October 28, 2014

There are enormous opportunities in the Gulf region for suppliers of energy saving and green products, including lighting, kitchen and bathroom fittings and natural stone fittings, said a report.

Green buildings witnessed a slow take off in the GCC, but governments have acted swiftly in the past three years to embrace sustainability through education and legislation, stated the report by Ventures Middle East commissioned by The Big 5 construction exhibition to be held from November 17 to 20 in Dubai, UAE.

Developers have also recognised that buildings have to demonstrate sustainability to be marketable, according to the report entitled “GCC Focus on Sustainability in Construction".

The report was prepared in the run up to the two-day Sustainable Design & Construction Conference in Dubai, which takes place during The Big5 exhibition.

According to the report, the rise in green buildings has resulted in an increased demand for green building materials. It has also resulted in the creation of new and unconventional building materials, which are in line with new building specifications.

Ventures Middle East in its report said the demand could soon outstrip the supply of vital sustainable materials to meet green building regulations in the GCC.

Green ratings systems have been introduced in all the GCC countries: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed), from the US, and the UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (Breeam) are used by many developers and each country is adopting its own standards, it added.

The report said a total of 1,236, Leed-rated projects were set up in the GCC last year with the UAE topping the list. Of the project, the emirates accounted for 67 per cent followed by Qatar with 190 projects (16 per cent) and Saudi Arabia with 158 projects (13 per cent).

Their Gulf neighbours Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have 51 Leed-rated projects between them accounting for around four per cent, according to the report by Ventures Middle East.

"The UAE is considered a leader in green building practices,” said the report. In addition to being one of the Leed pioneers, Abu Dhabi has introduced its own system Estidama, a green building integrated programme, which assesses sustainability across the life of the building.

“In some requirements, Estidama is more stringent than Leed and other standards,” the report noted.

While the new report establishes that most developers now recognise the commercial benefits of a sustainable building, it also points out that some contractors are “reluctant to procure technologies which are perceived to be more expensive and are unsure of any tangible benefit”.

Dubai Municipality’s Green Building Codes apply to all new construction in the emirate and they aim for one third of the buildings in the city to be green within 10 years.

On the first day of The Big 5, Kamal Azayem, the mechanical engineering expert at Dubai Municipality, will give an insight into the code and highlight updates since its implementation last year.

"I will be giving an overview of Dubai's initiatives toward sustainability and outlining the requirements for permitting, assessment and certification of Green Buildings," remarked Azayem.

At the Sustainable Design & Construction Conference, Yann Pennes, the projects director, Dewan Architects & Engineers, will talk about applying Dubai's Green Building Regulations to mixed-use, commercial and hospitality projects, including choosing the right materials and technology to reduce water and energy consumption.

The Sustainable Design & Construction Conference takes place on November 18 to 19 as part of The Big 5 expo.-TradeArabia News Service
 




Tags: Construction | GCC | Green | Big 5 |

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