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King Abdullah Financial District now the world's biggest green development:

Massive real estate project seeking green accreditation

Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is now the largest project in the world that is seeking green building accreditation, MEED's Saudi Green Buildings Forum 2011 was told today.

The project involves building 34 towers in a site with a total area of 1.6 million square metres. It will provide more than 3 million square metres of space for various uses, 62,000 parking spaces and accommodation for 12,000 residents. The KAFD aims to create 44,000 new jobs and to be the largest financial centre in the Middle East.

The LEED director for the project at the Saudi BinLadin Group, Whysal Numan said that the drive to achieve the highest standards in sustainability has involved a wide range of initiatives designed to lift environmental standards during the construction process and after the opening of the project. This is scheduled to take place in 2014.

The Saudi Binladin Group is the principal design and build contractor on the project. Sustainability initiatives at the project include an erosion sedimentation control plan to reduce pollution from dust and to control soil erosion. "We have land-watering in the project each hour and every day and other measures to control dust coming from the site," Numan said. Traffic speed within the project is controlled for the same reason.

"Our construction waste management programme aims to divert at least 50 per cent of our construction waste from disposal in landfill and incinerators," Whysall said. "The indoor air quality plan is to reduce health risks for construction workers."

The project will use alternative transport systems. "The KAFD is to have a monorail system with six stations that will connect with public parking areas. There will also be parking for bicycles and changing rooms for people who come the district by bicycle.

LEED requirements demand that water consumption must be reduced by 20 per cent. To achieve this, technology being used in the project includes dual-flush toilet systems and low-water flow fittings. Buildings within the KAFD will also make use of greywater.

"Energy performance is most critical," Whysall said. "LEED requires a 10 per cent reduction in energy use. We have introduced a lot of strategies to achieve this and they include low ultra-violet materials; shading device systems; heat recovery systems and efficient light fixtures.

"We are aiming to use at least 50 per cent of the materials from recycled material," Whysall said. This has involved using recycled steel and porcelain. "We are aiming that at least 10 per cent of the total cost will be in the form of recycled material and we could get to 20 per cent and more."

"Building materials have been selected which are extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site for a minimum of 10 per cent of the cost of the total value of the materials used in the project," Whysall said. "We are targeting 20 per cent." Sustainable adhesives, paints, flooring and composite wood are being used to reach this target.

The client for the King Abdullah Financial District is the Rayadah Investment Company.

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Green buildings movement is becoming increasingly influential 

UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar join green building agenda

Green Technologies managing director Mario Seneviratne told the MEED Saudi Green Buildings Forum 2011 in Riyadh this morning that the green buildings movement is becoming influential in a growing number of countries.

"There are more than 80 countries signed up to the green building agenda," Seniveratne said. "They include the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia."

Seniveratne said that a coherent approach to applying green building principles will deliver economic and environmental benefits. "Green buildings are the solution to environmental and business challenges," he said. Seniveratne said that the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system is still dominant in the Gulf.

"There are more LEED buildings than those rated by any other system," Seneviratne said. "It's been used in the region for 13 years. It's easily adaptable to the Middle East but you can use any one of the many green building rating systems."

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Incentives sufficient to promote green buildings, says Minister 

Existing regulations good enough in Saudi Arabia for sustainability

Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Electricity Saleh Alawaji told the MEED Saudi Green Buildings Forum 2011 in Riyadh this morning that existing regulations are good enough to promote high standards of sustainability in new buildings.

"I think the Saudi building code is a sufficient document in my opinion," Alawaji said. "But I believe that we have a huge amount of energy being consumed in existing buildings.

"We need to work hard to tackle this issue. Providing (government) incentives is one of the effective tools but who will be in charge of these incentives? And the government needs to see a return on incentive.

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Conference to tackle challenges in green building 

The Saudi Green Building Forum will be held at Riyadh's Four Seasons Hotel on Oct. 13-16 under the aegis of Prince Mansour bin Miteb, minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and in the implementation of King Abdullah's initiative. High-profile experts from both the Kingdom and abroad will attend the event.

The third annual intellectual think-tank event will involve a conference, workshop, exposition, and project case studies of the current year as well as discuss green building and energy technologies.

According to Faisal Al-Fadi, the forum's secretary-general, the conference will provide a dominant platform for discussing challenges for green building related to the sustainability to promote green building initiatives in Saudi Arabia, to boost business collaboration, unveil new employment opportunities, and enhance the built environment across the kingdom. He said the presentations, panel discussion and case studies at the conference would challenge issues such as expansion of green building, sustainable urban development, and Saudi Arabia's position as a frontrunner – a hub of the fastest growing construction and projects market in the Middle East and North Africa.

Al-Fadi noted that the green market had witnessed swift expansion over the past three years and with the government and private sector companies in support of international green building standards and initiatives. The US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) registrations and certifications have significantly increased since the inception of the Saudi Green Building Forum in 2010. This increase makes it evident that more and more organizations, people and governments are aspiring to create a sustainably built environment and legislation.

The forum's conference and projects case studies will continue to stay as a significant means of aiding the development of laws and regulations set by King Abdullah Green Building initiatives; enhancing the comprehensive collection of standards and guidance systems that is being implemented in the Kingdom; signifying the building information modeling technology; strengthening relation with industry stakeholders; delivering information, analysis and insights into available business opportunities; and building cultural awareness of local urban development.

In his statement, Prince Mansour said: "This meeting represents a valuable opportunity to review the achievements of previous recommendations, including more than one axis, either as assigned to the government sector, professional bodies or entrusted to the private sector."

Among the distinguished speakers are Mohammed Al-Suwaiyel, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology; Abdullah Al-Muqbil, mayor of Riyadh municipality; Edward Burton, president and managing director of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council; Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and CEO; Amer Kayani, minister counselor of commercial affairs at Riyadh Embassy in the US; and Abdulrahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Riyadh to host three-day summit of Saudi Mega Infrastructure Projects in September 

Saudi Arabia is about to witness one of the mega events of this year, Saudi Mega Infrastructure Projects Summit, beginning September 16, 2012 onwards for three days at Riyadh Marriott Hotel, Saudi Arabia.

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