DUBAI — Dubai Municipality has made it optional for residential villas to comply with the Green Roofs initiative following the comments passed on by UAE nationals.
The move comes in harmony with the public interest bearing in mind achieving the expected objectives of the project.
Khalid Mohamad Saleh, director, Structure Department, Dubai Municipality, said greening roofs and the facade of buildings is a key element.
“It is a high standard environmental requirement being applied all over the world, and for that it has a significant role in slashing temperature of cities and minimising the electricity load, which in turn, leads to cutting down the carbon emission rates,” he said.
The green roofs project is aimed at transforming roofs of all buildings and houses in Dubai into cultivated space, where the water from air-conditioners would be used for irrigation of plants.
The Dubai Municipality, Saleh added, had tried such a system on its own buildings and it has proved very successful by using drainage water produced by the air conditioners to irrigate plants.
Saleh pointed out that the municipality received a lot of comments and suggestions from those who failed to apply the green roofs system, which prompted the municipality to make it voluntary on privately-owned villas.
Regarding the investment structures, Saleh said it has been decided that a proposal in this respect will be handed by both the consultant engineer and the landlord to discuss the matter with the concerned personnel with the municipality during the erection of the building in order to avoid any delay of the transaction.