More than 300 environment-friendly building projects are currently under way in Saudi Arabia out of a total of 2,000 such developments in the Middle East region, said a report.

The kingdom has captured about 15 per cent of the region's share, as it moves towards a culture of green building in the community and foster concepts of sustainability, environment and humanity, reported the Arab News.

The area occupied by these eco-friendly buildings in the kingdom had risen to more than 20 million sq m by the end of 2014 and is expected to double the current year, stated the report citing a senior official.

"Of these green building projects, majority of them are located in capital Riyadh with investments estimated at SR200 billion ($55 billion)," Faisal Al-Fadl, the head of the Initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Green Building, was quoted as saying.

He lauded the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs for taking steps on formulating technical guidelines of green buildings in the Kingdom.