Sustainable guidelines and regulations for future developments on the agenda at MEED's Qatar Green Building 2009 conference

Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned and endorsed by the Qatar Council of Green Buildings, MEED's Qatar Green Buildings conference will provide an overview of Qatar's green building opportunities, guidelines and future regulatory framework.

Edmund O'Sullivan, Chairman MEED Events said,

"The construction sector in Qatar is worth approximately $119bn and is continuing to grow. A major civil infrastructure investment programme is underway which, over the next 5-10 years, will see more than $130bn spent on major projects across the transport, real estate, power & water sectors in Qatar."

"Increasingly in the region, new construction projects are having to adhere to new 'green' building regulations. Currently there exists a lot of ambiguity around what the new sustainable regulations will be, and the programme at this event has been designed to help attendees clarify these uncertainties."

With slowdowns in other construction sectors from within, and beyond the region, many companies across are targeting growth in the Qatari market in 2009 and competition for work is increasing.
Predictably, such large scale construction is predicted to place considerable indirect costs upon already scarce natural resources. Qatar is formulating coordinated responses to negate the environmental impact of the present and future building construction and is actively promoting the design of energy efficient 'green' buildings.

Although sustainable design and construction has traditionally been a more expensive building option for constructors, the Qatar Green Buildings Conference will help delegates understand how to make building in an ecologically friendly way profitable and will highlight the new commercial opportunities opening in the market.

Conference delegates will be able to hear and learn from such industry experts as Gordon Affleck, Design Principal at RMJM who will be speaking about Dubai Towers, Qatar's first proposed LEED rated building; Jeffrey Willis, Sustainability Leader - Gulf, Arup, who will be discussing ways of using water recycling in buildings and Eng. Issa M Al Mohannadi, Projects Development Director at the Qatar Foundation, Senior Representative of the Qatar Green Building Council and CEO of the recently launched Dohaland, which has a mission to promote environmentally friendly living,.

Mr Al Mohannadi said, "We strive to build communities and create environments that will enable people and communities to achieve, succeed and flourish. As a developer of thoughts, knowledge, science and ideas which we will share the world, we will promote and implement sustainable concepts and innovative ideas, and aim to ensure maximum utilisation of resources with minimal impact on the environment."

Mario Seneviratne, of the World Green Building Council, will be presenting at the conference and will also be leading a pre-event masterclass on Tuesday 17th March which will be detailing the difference between regulations, guidelines and assessment tools and their impact on building design.

Edmund O'Sullivan concluded, "If you have an interest in Qatar construction then attendance at the Qatar Green Buildings Conference 2009 is crucial to learn first hand about the new and upcoming regulations from key industry stakeholders and the people who are involved in the decision making."

Qatar Green Buildings Conference 2009 is sponsored by Qatar Cool (Qatar District Cooling Company), a newly formed private sector joint venture company owned 51% by United Development Company (UDC), 44% by Dubai-based National District Cooling Company (Tabreed) and 5% by private Qatari investors.