The 5th annual Saudi Green Building Forum (SGBF) held here recently addressed the efforts of Saudi Arabia that aims to monitor and control the environmental impact of the buildings, according to the organizer, Faisal Alfadl, who is also SGBF’s secretary.
Themed “Principle strategies: A vision for urban development,” the event was attended by high-ranking Saudi officials as well as local and international experts.
According to SGBF, Saudi Arabia ecological foot print indicate consumes of five hectares of its energy resources per person, which is more than double the global average, and is building one of the most important sectors that could reduce energy consumption, estimated at 30 percent.
This could be reduced by using alternative and renewable energy and focus on the design and implementation of energy conservation of buildings in line with modern standards of green buildings for the security and safety of humans and the environment.
The three-day event, under the aegis of Prince Mansour bin Miteb Al-Saud, minister of municipalities and rural affairs, is being supported as strategic partners by the Ministry of Water and Electricity, and the King Saud Foundation.
Addressing the conference, Alfadl said: Today’s event is designed for consultation and review previous initiatives and recommendations on aspects of employment and investment in the urban development based on the government spending budget this year.
An amount of SR106 billion alone was allocated for the municipal services, facilities and basic transportation, he added.
Highlighting the green building projects, he said there are 300 projects, with an area of more than 25 million square meters, with a total value of SR150 billion from ongoing projects or about to complete in 2015.
All this makes Saudi Arabia in the Middle East a giant market by a large margin, he said.This initiative is part of the leadership strategy for urban development, public health and the environment.
The annual conference is held in response to King Abdullah’s initiative that aims to benefit from the general location of buildings for lighting and ventilation, renewable energy, water purification, environmentally-friendly building materials for health, safety and the security of the environment — a combined effort of engineering design, implementation, operation and management of construction assembly, waste and recycling.
According to Alfadl, the forum is a primary motivation for the change in the construction industry and the traditional design, and discusses the challenges and solutions-oriented principles of sustainability and building codes. It will take advantage of the assessment of green initiatives and systems scientist, through four programs and motivational strategies to promote the work of institutional green buildings.
In 2009, the king opened the King Abdullah University for Science & Technology (KAUST) that marks a ground-breaking development and Saudi Arabia’s first green building project.
The first SGBF was held in Riyadh in October 2010. It was the setting for the launch of the King Abdullah initiative for green buildings partnered by the Ministry of Municipality & Rural Affairs. This has set the scene for a rapid expansion in the number of Saudi projects securing and seeking green building accreditation.
Saudi green building projects’ value reaches SR150 billion
