Waiting on the sidelines

The site for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, on the shore of the Red Sea at Thuwal, at an early stage. It is just one of the Kingd

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the biggest and most influential economy and construction market in the Middle East, is new to the sustainable agenda. Its insular market has seen little of the recent discussion in the Gulf and it is yet to become a competitive edge for the major developers, contractors and suppliers.

For the country, which possesses around a fifth of the world’s known oil reserves, traditional forms of power must seem a reasonable sustainable option.

A globally political discussion point – witness the targets for reducing CO₂ emissions earlier this decade and world forums such in Davos, Switzerland – sustainability has had at least a theoretical presence in project-based building initiatives in other parts of the Gulf for the last few years.

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Reusable building materials and tools that are locally sourced, and harnessing solar and wind power, are just two areas for development.

Developers that have offices across the Middle East say the idea has now entered the Saudi vocabulary – but only very recently. “I think that the sustainability idea is new and I don’t see many building projects that are being built in this way,” says Diyaa Ayoub, market intelligence analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.

“In general, if you were to see each individual building on King Fahad Road [in Riyadh], I don’t think they have it in their minds to be sustainable.”

The factors that will influence whether or not the ecologically-minded methods and end-products in construction will catch on in the Kingdom are numerous.

The first is definition. There is little clear legislation regarding the adoption or monitoring of sustainable practices. Certification systems have been met with greatly varied levels of understanding.

Where Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council is pushing for the Estidama system to be mandatory as it supervises the regeneration of its capital district, others have little idea of what it might entail, or of its older cousin, Leed.

Often such measures need to be spelled out by the developers. Assad Jaber, project executive at Turner Construction International, who attended the Construction Week: Building Sustainability conference in Riyadh earlier this month, says: “There is no commitment if it is not regulated by the government and specified by the owners.”

The second factor is cost. Industry consultants have told CW that switching to creating ‘green’ buildings and methods – reducing energy consumption, for example – can be as high as three-times that of traditional methods.

“Owners have to look at the feasibility of producing a different product than what they are producing now and if it is worthwhile. [If there is] an added value to their investment they will specify green without regulation from the government,” adds Jaber.

A question of perception, particularly around procurement, is also an issue. “The problem in Saudi market is that most of projects finishing materials are imported from outside, not from the local material,” comments Hany Khalifa, a senior architect at Saudconsult.

“This is due to the fact that the client believes that imported goods have higher quality and lower maintenance costs. Moreover, suppliers and manufacturers in Saudi Arabia still believe that it’s cheaper to import the materials, than for them to be extracted and manufactured.”

The third issue, linked to cost, is the lack of clear incentives for companies. Khaled Awad, founder of Grenea and one of the minds behind the zero-carbon Masdar City, is adamant that there is no clear business case for sustainability, meaning that few companies will see beyond the cost issue.

At this month's Construction Week: Building Sustainability conference, he said: “You must show how all stakeholders can benefit and come onto one platform. How can we monetise this – if you can’t make money, how will it happen?”

Samer Arafa, group executive vice president at Al Arrab Contracting, says that he has seen “increased awareness” to be friendly to the environment, but the subject is far from routine when planning projects. In particular, he highlighted the current cheap energy prices as a further disincentive to switch to other sources of power.

“Unless there is a real benefit in terms of tax subsidy or some tax credit scheme, then there won’t be a business case.

“You have to keep in mind that compared to Europe – which has between 500 and 600 million people – Saudi Arabia has a similar size but far fewer people, so there is a lot of land space. So there is no pressure on resources yet… it is still safe, there is no need to be extra good to the environment.”

He added that government legislation would be key to driving the agenda, a view Hany Khalifa agrees with. “Legislation is necessary to make sustainability an integral part of the Saudi market. Let’s take value engineering as an example: it is widely used by consultants in Saudi Arabia as it is a must for any government project.”

As ever, the rest of the Middle East will keep a close eye on the changes in the Saudi market. It is a country of potentially great influence on the ethos of sustainability in the Gulf and is yet to make up its mind.