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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
The green building sector in Qatar has been growing at the fastest pace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with the number of eco-friendly buildings reaching 220 recently in the country, Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) Director Eng Meshal al Shamari has said.
Talking to Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the 8th global edition of Hotelier Summit in Doha, Shamari said currently Qatar has the second highest number of green buildings in the MENA region after the UAE.
"Qatar started working on the concept of green building just 10 years ago. Today we have as many as 220 big green buildings in the country. It's a massive progress towards realising Qatar's vision to have 100 percent eco-friendly building by 2030," Shamari said.
Public sector entities like Ashghal, Msheireb, Qatar Foundation and Kahramaa have been instructed by the government to meet the highest green building standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in their current and forthcoming projects, he added.
"All the 100 buildings coming up in Msheireb Downtown Doha are eco-friendly. Once completed, this will be the world's largest collection of LEED certified buildings," Shamari said.
"The Msheireb town will be a showcase of the latest and greatest green design elements in the region," Shamari said.
Citing the example of the upcoming Lusail City, Shamari said Qatar will also be the first country in the entire region to have a carbon-neutral city once it is completed.
The government is also working on a legislation to make it mandatory for private construction firms to follow green building norms in their projects, he said, adding that Qatar's energy consumption will reduce almost 70 percent once the norms are implemented by both public and private firms.
"Today buildings account for 60 percent of Qatar's total energy consumption. Developing green buildings will prove to be vital in reducing Qatar's growing energy needs," he said.
With the arrival of new technologies, Shamari said, the average construction cost of eco-friendly buildings in Qatar have come down.
Seeing the long-term benefits of green buildings, a number of individual owners are also opting for eco-friendly houses."The ultimate objective of green buildings is to use water, energy and other resources more efficiently while ensuring occupants good health. Green buildings can bring a variety of social, economic and environmental benefits for Qatari residents," he said.
