Saudi Arabia is currently the third most invested country globally in green buildings and is fast set to become the world leader, said an industry expert ahead of the Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia 2018 expo in Jeddah.

Now in the second edition, it is the kingdom’s premier B2B platform for the natural stone, flooring and fit-out industry.

To be held from April 10 to 12 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events, the Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia provides access to a wide variety of top-of-the-line products and services for the kingdom’s construction and fit-out industry.

"Saudi Arabia is transforming its built landscape with 1,218 projects currently under way across the country covering a total 22 million sq m gross, registered or certified with the Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system – including smart, sustainable mega cities," remarked Faisal Alfadl, the secretary-general of SGBF.  

"The kingdom is already home to one the highest concentrations of Gold and Platinum Leed-certified buildings in the Middle East, with a cluster of more than 50 towers together at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh," stated Alfadl, who will chair a major ‘Green Building Workshop’ on the opening day (April 10) of the three-day event.

Leading experts will be at the Jeddah event to discuss a wide range of topics including Saudi Arabia’s green building outlook, performance of the cities, green building international code and the best practice.

These discussions are set to reveal Saudi’s position as a world leader in sustainable construction, with an “intelligent cities” green built environment on its horizon.

"Saudi Arabia led the way in the 50’s supplying energy with global oil, and now once again the country is set to lead the way in green building, planning world clean energy solar plants with mega infrastructure projects including smart city Neom, leading into the future with Saudi Vision 2030," remarked Alfadl.

“In the future, buildings here will not only be sustainable – they will be ‘intelligent’, able to communicate with humans and be in synergy, to understand and interact with diverse culture and lifestyles, and inter-relate to ensure that there is no unnecessary waste of energy or water being consumed, and provide a better quality of life for occupants,” he added.

The Green Building Workshop will also have Ahmed Abunada, saaf professional, Leed AP and USGBC Faculty and Buthina Aljehani, Leed GA Associate Architect at Istithna Consultant Engineering, as it key speakers.

"At the workshop we'll be revealing the first translated green building code specific to the Arab world and conceptualized in Arabic – the only one of its kind in the world alongside the original English version by International Code Council," revealed Alfadl.

"The code will include a series of concepts and implementation tactics relevant to the Middle East with a focus on preserving cultural heritage whilst incorporating new technological advancements, materials and techniques to achieve the ultimate in green building and comply with all current regulations," he stated.

The workshop, said Alfadl, will also introduce saaf green city by SGBF a programme that is specifically designed to help all those involved with developing sustainability in the built environment in Saudi Arabia and has been developed to complement actions being taken globally to address the urban challenge with Sustainable Development Goals.

Other highlights at the Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia, which is co-located with The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2018 include a keynote from JLL, a talk on the use of local stone, granite and other green surface materials in Saudi Vision 2030 from the Saudi Concrete Chapter and Green Quality Consulting Engineering Office, and a look at the most essential elements of construction contracts from Hanmi Global Saudi.-TradeArabia News Service