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COMMENT
Industry insight
CHANDRA DAKE DAKE GROUP
Sustainable development finds an admirer in Dubai 2040 Master Plan
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ay back in 1960, the Emirate of Dubai started modernising and planning for its future with an emphasis on urban development and related infrastructure. Since then, the city has come up with six editions of the Urban Master Plan. And now, the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, the seventh such plan, has been formulated. The plan promises to further improve the city’s quality of life and make it an easy space to live in, with sustainability and protection of the environment as focus points. For starters, Dubai’s initiative is praiseworthy because it draws upon an already good track record in liveability indices. For example, as per the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2021, Dubai ranks third worldwide in terms of ease of living. The city has been hailed for being easy to navigate even without local language proficiency and for its friendly local population. Dubai also does very well in the quality of the urban living index. When it comes to drafting master plans for the improvement of any city, every key economic sector must be factored in along with a roadmap for each. As such, cities tend to have a business-as-usual approach, where issues such as high energy and carbon footprint are secondary to economic growth. Against this backdrop, it is commendable
August 2022 | MEConstructionNews.com
that Dubai 2040 Master Plan has emphasised “green” projects and their conservation. Even a casual look at the 2040 Urban Master Plan reveals that the city planners have been mindful of sustainability and efficient resource utilisation. One of the key requirements of an environmentally responsible and sustainable city, especially in water-stressed regions, is provisioning for water security and inducing the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) wherever applicable. This involves maximising the utility of all available sources of water and harvesting rainwater while ensuring that our actions reconcile with social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainability. Sustainably managing water resources becomes much easier if a city is built around the concept of soaking up and storing water safely and effectively — or "Sponge Cities" as they are known colloquially. As the name suggests, a sponge city soaks up water in rainexposed areas when the urban landscaping is done using porous material. The water is harvested, stored in underground reservoirs, and, with effective piping, redistributed to the utility grid. Sponge Cities also ensure flood management, strengthen the ecological infrastructure, and streamline drainage systems. As the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan posits a “green and healthy future”, addressing water scarcity — one of the pressing issues hindering holistic sustainability in the UAE — through proactive urban landscaping is a logical move. Integrating the concept of Sponge Cities into the Urban Master Plan will not only ensure that rainwater — the purest form of natural water — is harvested sustainably for various purposes but also mitigate flooding and waterlogging, which have become rampant in recent years. With urbanization set to increase due to population growth, sponge city deployment is a prudent step bearing in mind the next 20 years. All in all, the formulation of a Master Plan when the city is already ahead of the curve across multiple parameters attests to the leaders’ farsightedness. At a time of a great reset, when circumstances are evolving rapidly, planning for 20 years ahead is indeed tasking. However, a blueprint will ensure that planners have a good point of reference to accommodate changes, measure progress, and build better. Chandra Dake is executive chairman and group CEO of the Dake Group.
JOHAN EKSTROM
HUSQVARNA CONSTRUCTION
Using the right tools and technology to build more energy efficiently
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s technology becomes more pervasive in construction sites, the industry will see an increase in productivity as well as a truncated construction schedule. To benefit from the technological advancements in the industry, it is advisable for construction sites to join the bandwagon and move at the same technological pace as other industries. The Middle East and Africa Construction equipment was valued at $125.3bn in 2018 and is estimated to reach a value of $285.4bn in 2024 at CAGR of 9.4%. Key drivers for technology adoption in construction are efficiency, productivity improvements, safety as well as cost reductions. The main drivers and benefits include: 1. TIMELY COMPLETION OF PROJECTS Construction delays result in increased costs to the original program scope. One reason behind specific concrete job delays can be the use of manual machines or traditional methods used to cut, drill the concrete, resulting in timeconsuming processes and involving safety risk. Light construction equipment has evidently brought a period of change in the industry. It offers numerous benefits to the contractor such as precision engineering, speed & efficiency in the job, modern engines with low fuel consumption and lower emissions.
