(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Hussain Nasser Lootah says building a sustainable city includes all aspects that impact on the society economy and environment.
“The Government of Dubai has decided to be one of the top ten sustainable cities in the world by 2020 as part of its strategic goal to enhance Dubai’s leadership in sustainability efforts in all sectors and levels” said Hussain Nasser Lootah Director-General of the Dubai Municipality on Tuesday.
He was delivering the keynote speech at the second Sustainable Design & Construction Conference hosted at The Big 5 at Dubai World Trade Centre.
“Building a sustainable city includes all aspects that impact on the society economy and environment. These elements had been shown by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai when he stated that “Our goal is to build an economy that protects the environment as well as an environment that supports the growth of economy”.
“The DM’s initiatives for sustainability start from urban planning and include initiatives and efforts in water treatment environment and waste management thermal insulation energy conservation green buildings and green city” he said.
Lootah explained that the Green Buildings Regulations and specifications were introduced in 2010 by the Dubai Municipality to improve the sustainability of the buildings by enhancing the healthy indoor lifestyle and saving the consumption of water electricity and raw materials in construction and operation phases. These were mandatory for government projects and optional for non-government projects until 2013. From March 2014 they have become is mandatory for all new projects.
“The concept of Green Buildings will enhance the level of Dubai among sustainable cities. The 79 regulations will deal with the buildings from its designing stage by choosing sustainable sites using appropriate orientation and using modern techniques and technologies which help in minimising the environmental impacts of construction phase in balance with the economic vision. The regulations and specifications support green products and materials used in construction and operation processes” he continued.
“The mechanism of implementation has been developed to be simple and integrated with the previous stages of Dubai Municipality procedures for permitting and executing projects. The DM also published the regulations and Practice Guide to explain them and provided the stakeholders with Green Building Materials Guide to enhance the green culture and green suppliers’ efforts in Dubai” he elaborated.