Sharjah Plans to Introduce Green Building Rules

Al Mulla said green building standards were being adopted worldwide and the Sharjah government was planning to stipulate the same standards for all construction activities.

The rules would cover areas like sustainability of site, use of environment-friendly materials, conservation and management of power and water, generation of clean energy like solar energy and value-addition to real estate.

The symposium, being organised by the Sharjah Public Works at American University of Sharjah on the theme ‘Capital Cities, Wicked Problems: Best Practices in Planning and Policy Response Mechanisms, was inaugurated by Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. The symposium ends on Tuesday.

Al Mulla said the municipality’s technical affairs section was working on a resolution on the implementation of green building specifications and standards in the emirate.

The owners of residential and commercial buildings and properties in Sharjah must comply with the resolution which would stipulate international green building standards and specifications. “The new rules are expected to be announced in January 2009 with immediate effect,” he said.

He pointed out that some developers in Sharjah had already started adopting green building standards to maximise both economic and environmental benefits.

The municipality was implementing these specifications on its new premises under construction and the new shopping centre in Al Khalidia area.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Ahmed Alshamsi, Head of Architecture Section at the Sharjah Department of Town Planning, said the emirate’s government was making all efforts through its departments like Town Planning and Public Works in coordination with the municipality to encourage the construction industry to shift from the conventional, wasteful, harmful and unhealthy building methods and materials to a sustainable building system that generated less pollution and consequently protected the environment.

He explained that green buildings meant incorporating excellent practices that result in environment protection, energy efficiency, water conservation, use of renewable energy and clean recycled products.

According to the US Green Building Council, a ‘Green Building’ has six major added values: increasing energy performance by 25 per cent or more; decreasing absenteeism by 15 per cent compared to conventional buildings; reducing building-related illness; increasing occupants’ productivity; improving health condition; and prolonging lifecycle of buildings.

The recent statistics published by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce showed that Dubai power consumption in 2004 alone was 16,363 giga watts-hour of which 70 per cent was utilised in commercial and residential buildings, he said.