Friday 29 March 2024
 
»
 
»
Story

UAE developers ... setting the bar for regional players to follow.

UAE firms 'spearheading sustainable development'

DUBAI, January 22, 2015

The UAE’s developers are setting the pace for sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa region, driving higher regional standards in the outdoor construction and design industry, said a leading consultant.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are definitely leading the way for sustainable development here in the Mena region, with the municipalities having provided minimum standards that all developers must adhere to,” said Walter Bone, Landscape Design Architect at Khatib & Alami, one of the leading design firms in the region.

“We are seeing many developers going above and beyond these standards and setting the bar for other developers to follow, which is great for the whole industry,” he noted.

The UAE's construction industry is presently enjoying resurgence, with a total value of $315 billion in announced and planned projects last year, driven by mega-projects such as Expo 2020 and by spending on social infrastructure,  according to research by EC Harris released ahead of an upcoming industry event, The Outdoor Design and Build Show' in Dubai, UAE  

An annual B2B trade event, The Outdoor Design and Build Show will run from April 13 to 15 focusing purely on design and build for all public and private spaces including parks, urban areas, hotels, schools, sports venues, and major residential projects.

Hosted and fully backed by Dubai Municipality, the show is the only dedicated international platform in the Middle East that caters to the entire spectrum of hard and soft landscape products and services. Major confirmed exhibitors include: Gulf Landscape, Wt Burden, Nahar and Hunter Industries.

According to Bone, the developers in the region are increasingly looking at making better use of outdoor space, and providing a better environment for people to use it more effectively.  

“While in many areas here, people don’t tend to make much use of available open space, once you provide people with spaces where they can live, work and play they will take advantage of that,” he stated.

“By providing landscaping amenities such as shaded areas, gathering places and so on, you make the quality of peoples’ lives so much better. This is a concept that has been adopted around the world for a very long time and since Dubai and Abu Dhabi have embraced it, we can look forward to seeing it being embraced in other parts of the region,” he added.

UAE regulations stipulate that 25 per cent of a project’s development area must be set aside for environmentally-responsible landscaping, while Abu Dhabi is addressing sustainable development through its Estidama - the Arabic word for sustainability – initiative, said the event organisers Streamline Marketing Group.

"Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s forward thinking is providing an example to the rest of the region and once again confirms the UAE’s status as a regional leader," stated Nicholas Webb, the managing partner of Streamline Marketing Group.

“By addressing sustainability issues now we are, quite literally, building for all our futures,” he added.

Kamelia Bin Zaal, the creative director at Al Barari, the unique eco-friendly residential community in Dubai, said: "Since its inception, Al Barari has focused on environmental management strategies to integrate sustainability throughout the entire community, from engineering design and construction, to composting, water polishing and recycling."

“We aim to not only minimise the local impact of development, but to enhance the regional environment and bring about careful ecological restoration,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | Sustainable development |

More Construction & Real Estate Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads