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Industry insight

CHANDRA DAKE

DAKE GROUP

Sustainable development finds an admirer in Dubai 2040 Master Plan

Way 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 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.

JOHAN EKSTROM

HUSQVARNA CONSTRUCTION

Using the right tools and technology to build more energy efficiently

As 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.

With the help of the right type of equipment and diamond tools, fitted with cutting-edge technologies, smart application and bespoke approach contractors can ensure the cutting time is safe, efficient and is as per requirements.

Heavy-duty machines that are embedded with advanced technology can do twice the amount of work and other tasks in less time and more efficiently. The utilisation of high-frequency current and digital processing can increase performance, productivity, and mobility.

2. INCREASED COST SAVINGS The reliability of the heavy-duty construction equipment also translates into higher profitability resulting in reduced defect-related claims, professional quality outputs and a higher quantity of jobs done in the same day. To gain the maximum efficiency, selection of right diamond tools for the application that contractors is performing is crucial. For that, the advice from concrete cutter or demolishing specialists that have expertise in using complex solutions will help avoid costly mistakes.

3. INCREASED SAFETY AND LESS HAZARDOUS Construction equipment housed with the latest technology are less hazardous, resulting in considerably reduced CO2, helping companies apply a greener footprint. An electric power cutter is an ideal solution to reduce work hazards, including inhaling exhausting fumes and dust at indoor jobs.

4. LONGER LIFETIME Using a power cutter on a daily basis for different applications has a longer lifetime use compared to other small power tools used to cut concrete. Combined with the right diamond tools for different application, it provides the contractors and application specialists to perform multiple jobs for long without major wear and tear.

By using powerful tools and cutting-edge technology, developers are able to build stronger, taller, and more energy efficient structures, contractors benefit from increased productivity, improved collaboration, and be able to tackle more complex projects and for construction professionals it has made the sites safer.

Johan Ekstrom is business development manager, senior application and product specialist at Husqvarna Construction.

DR. IVOR WILLIAMS

TRSDC

Committing to creating a sustainable tourism industry

With rising temperatures causing increasing frequency and severity of coral bleaching on reefs around the world, and ecosystems and habitats being impacted by human activity, there is a pressing need for committed proactive management of coral reefs, and nowhere more so than in the tourism industry, which is often decried for the effects it can sometimes have on the environment. There is an important opportunity now for developers to take accountability, beginning at the inception of a project and maintaining throughout a development’s lifecycle.

True accountability goes beyond the simple announcement of ambitious plans. It is also defined by how effectively progress is tracked and outcomes are measured and requires transparent reporting.

At The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), we are trying to set new standards for the tourism and hospitality industry by building a destination that puts the environment first in a way that we believe no other developer has done before. Our approach is one that brings together cutting-edge environmental research, sustainable practices, and a mission to achieve positive impact. With the Red Sea coast’s abundant and diverse wildlife, our research aims to explore and understand these ecosystems as well as inform on how to best conserve and protect them. We have achieved a substantial milestone in this regard with the completion of our environmental baseline survey.

This survey is by far the largest effort undertaken by a development company that I am aware of; it is more comparable in scale to initiatives undertaken by government agencies on a national level -for example our team surveyed fishes and corals at 300 different sites, we recorded >25,000 bird nests and over 500 sea turtle nests across our area. To achieve this level of effort, we recruited a team from academia and government institutions, including more than a dozen PhD scientists with collectively decades of experience. It’s a source of pride to be part of such a tremendous and committed team.

The methodologies we used are in line with best practices, with data gathered through both direct observation and the utilization of hightech monitoring approaches. The application of advanced technology, such as machine learning to analyse benthic survey images, allowed us to gather massively more data than we otherwise could. That’s vital when you’re working in an area as large and diverse as ours – including 92 islands and more than 200 km of coastline.

For this study, we worked closely with scientists from local institutions and agencies, particularly those at the Red Sea Research Centre in King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Besides the help we have received, being a good partner with other research and management efforts in Saudi Arabia is fundamental for us. Our goal is that the information and understanding we gain not only has value for the tourist destination we’re developing, but also contributes to the larger Red Sea research and management community.

Of course, The Red Sea Project is the primary driver behind the study. We recognize that to be able to deliver a truly sustainable destination, we need first rate information on the status and trends of the environment we operate in and the habitats and organisms that are present here. Our baseline study is by no means a one off. Our ongoing monitoring programs will allow us to observe and report changes over time. This baseline survey becomes the starting point against which we will measure our success against the company’s ambitious targets for conserving and protecting the local environment. We have long term goals, but for us to achieve those, the time to act is now.